THE NORTH County activist group that bankrolled Marc Del Piero’s unsuccessful campaign for supervisor has also been a bonanza to the county’s most high-profile environmental activist group.

In a big-money effort to unseat incumbent 5th District Supervisor Dave Potter, the North Salinas Valley Fund for Responsible Growth gave Del Piero a total of $132,500, a colossal amount for a county election.

But the North Salinas group has also been a huge contributor to LandWatch Monterey County this year, donating a huge $197,600 to the development-wary organization. In fact, the contribution from the North Salinas group exceeded LandWatch’s total donations in 2010 by nearly $50,000, according to its most recent 990 tax form.

LandWatch executive director Amy White said the group’s bounty has been and will be used to pursue LandWatch’s goals, which include helping implement the county’s general plan and battling Ferrini Ranch, a proposed 866-acre subdivision off of Highway 68, and Whispering Oaks, the proposed Monterey-Salinas Transit operations facility on the former Fort Ord.

“Whatever money LandWatch receives,” White told The Pine Cone, “we use it to work on projects to achieve our mission.”

The North Salinas group’s big contribution to LandWatch underscores its growing leverage in Monterey County politics, which largely began this year when it provided major backing to Del Piero and 4th District Supervisor Jane Parker’s campaigns.

The donations are not surprising, given the shared interests of LandWatch and the North Salinas Valley group, whose members include former LandWatch executive director Chris Fitz and chair Julie Engell, who is also LandWatch’s current treasurer.

The tax-exempt North Salinas group became instantly wealthy in 2008 when it received a $600,000 settlement  stemming from a lawsuit it filed against Monterey County over permits for Butterfly Village, the proposed residential development north of Salinas. The group was then called the San Juan Opposition Coalition.

Its members’ desire to see Potter ousted from the county board of supervisors led it to donate heavily to Del Piero. Potter has accused the group of trying to “buy” Del Piero’s supervisor seat. However, according to the Monterey County Elections department, Potter handily defeated Del Piero, 54.3 percent to 45.7 percent. By comparison, President Barack Obama’s margin over Mitt Romney was 51.4 percent to 48.6 percent.

Despite Potter’s obviously insurmountable lead, Del Piero still refuses to concede, pointing to what he believes are thousands of absentee and provisional ballots that have yet to be tallied.