Diablo Range Named Official California Conservation Priority

DANVILLE, CA — The California Legislature designated the Diablo Range as an official California conservation priority critical to helping the state achieve its 30x30 initiative. The initiative, launched by Gov. Newsom by executive order in 2020 and later written into state law, aims to conserve at least 30% of the state’s land and 30% of its coastal waters by 2030.

The recognition comes two months after the federal government approved a plan allowing oil and gas leasing to resume on federal mineral holdings in the Central Coast region, including Contra Costa County.

In 2025, Assemblymember Rebecca Bauer-Kahan authored an Assembly Concurrent Resolution sponsored by Save Mount Diablo that officially recognized the Diablo Range as a California conservation priority. The resolution was reviewed and approved by the Assembly Committee on Water, Parks, and Wildlife on Sept. 10, 2025, and passed by the Assembly on Sept. 13, 2025.

In June 2026, Save Mount Diablo provided testimony in support of ACR 107 to the Senate Natural Resources and Water Committee, which approved it. On Aug. 13, the Senate unanimously approved ACR 107, which officially recognizes the Diablo Range as a California conservation priority critical to helping the state meet its 30x30 initiative.

The Diablo Range is over 200 miles long, and spans 4 million acres and 12 counties, but less than 30% of the range is conserved, according to Save Mount Diablo. The region forms an large and significant wildlife habitat corridor home to hundreds of rare and endangered species, including the California condor and blunt-nosed leopard lizard. However, more than 10 million people reside in communities immediately surrounding the range, so protecting more lands and creating more parks will help many people get access to nature.

Several other organizations and agencies are taking steps to preserve more Diablo Range land. Earlier this year, California State Parks began the process of acquiring the former 101-acre CEMEX property bordering Mitchell Canyon and adding it to Mount Diablo State Park. In April, the East Contra Costa County Habitat Conservancy acquired 160 acres of the Curry Canyon Ranch property, while another 155 acres remained with Save Mount Diablo under a perpetual conservation easement.

At the same time, the Bureau of Land Management proposed reopening federal mineral rights to oil and gas leasing to several parts of the Bay Area, including Mount Diablo. As of August, the federal government approved the planning change that allows oil and gas leasing to resume. While no drilling project at Mount Diablo has been approved, parcels currently under consideration for a December federal lease sale are elsewhere in California.

“The California legislature’s historic approval of our resolution has just given much needed visibility, attention, and momentum to protecting the previously little-known, yet hugely important, Diablo Range,” Save Mount Diablo said in a statement.

SEE ALSO:

• Mt. Diablo Faces Drilling Threat
• Federal Plan Revives Mount Diablo Drilling Fight
• Mt. Diablo Gets New Bike Turnouts To Help Keep Cyclists Safe