Stewardship Update
Written by Haley Sutton, Land Stewardship Associate and Kendra Smith, Education & Outreach Coordinator
Magee Trails Are Open to the Public!
Trail signage at the southern end of Do’-yum’-bel’-le Vista Trail with Mount Diablo summit in the background. Photo by Haley Sutton
Our team completed the finishing touches before opening the Magee Preserve trails to the public at the end of the month.
We installed interpretive signage at the informational kiosks at each trailhead and end of trail, and painted a crosswalk that bisects a private driveway. We also conducted many trail inspections for safety and accessibility.
The trail corridor is made up of two roughly one-mile trail segments.
The Art Bonwell Trail, named after Save Mount Diablo’s co-founder, is located at the intersection of Diablo and McCauley roads, and ascends into a woodland of buckeyes and oaks.
Trail signage and crosswalk along the Art Bonwell Trail. Photo by Haley Sutton
The Do’-yum’-bel’-le Vista Trail honors the Bay Miwok name for Mount Diablo, and roams through rolling grasslands, with epic views of the Mount Diablo summit and surrounding ridgelines.
Kiosk at the Do’-yum’-bel’-le Vista trailhead. Photo by Haley Sutton
The trail also connects to East Bay Regional Park District’s Sycamore Valley Regional Open Space Preserve, offering ways to expand exploratory routes in that area.
Save Mount Diablo is grateful to our numerous partners who helped us open these new trails, including Davidon Homes, the town of Danville, East Bay Regional Park District, and many hardworking volunteers.
The trails are open to the public from sunrise to sunset, and all outdoor enthusiasts are welcome, including cyclists, equestrians, and hikers with dogs.
If you wish to help us steward these trails, please keep an eye out for trail maintenance workdays in the winter!
Watering Crew in Action
Volunteer watering an oak tree at Irish Canyon. Photo by Haley Sutton
Our dedicated watering crew gathered at Irish Canyon and Marsh Creek 7 to offer a good drink of water to each of the plants to help them get through the dry summer heat.
All the plants we water are just a couple years old and are more vulnerable to external factors than more established plants. Thank you to our volunteers!
Sticky Stinkwort
Volunteers and staff searching for stinkwort along Curry Creek. Photo by Haley Sutton
This month we continued to target the invasive species, stinkwort (Dittrichia graveolens).
The goal has been to remove all plants from known populations before they go to seed to effectively reduce species abundance. This is a multi-year effort, and if we are successful, we will generally see less plants at each site over time.
Our team was joined by neighbors to walk the length of Curry Creek from Curry Canyon Ranch to Morgan Territory Road, yanking out all the stinkwort plants we spotted along the way.
Staff also removed the sticky plants from the lower 200 acres of Curry Canyon Ranch, and revisited Marsh Creek 4 to pull the plants that were too small and easily missed the first time around.
We may not have removed every single plant from Save Mount Diablo properties this year, but we tackled a significant amount of them, preventing a ton of seed from being released into the environment.
Until next year!
Discover Diablo
Discover Diablo meditation hike. Photo by Emily Sherwood
Mangini Ranch Meditation Hike, August 8.
It was a beautiful morning for a hike as participants experienced the quiet surroundings at Mangini Ranch Educational Preserve.
Hike leaders Jim and Sharon Lawrence led some relaxing meditation exercises along the trail to help everyone be mindful and present with their natural surroundings.
Participants were pleased to experience a quieter hike as a change of pace from the typical social outings.
Photo by Emily Sherwood
