Blog

Our hearts sing out gratitude to all of you who helped us successfully protect more of the precious remaining natural places of the Mount Diablo area and connect our community to them this past fiscal year. Save Mount Diablo changed from a calendar year to an April 1st-March 31st fiscal year-end. Therefore, this information is for the transitional 15-month budget cycle between January 1, 2018 through March 31, 2019. *Numbers are based on unaudited January 1, 2018-March 31, 2019 financials. Read the Letter from our Executive Director and enjoy learning more about our work as you browse through our accomplishments over the past 15 months.

Dr. Jennifer E. Smith and her students received a grant from Save Mount Diablo’s Mary Bowerman Science and Research Program in 2018. The grant, “An integrated approach to understanding behavioral…

Ryan Fay and Ray Sullivan received a Mary Bowerman Science and Research Program grant in 2018. Ryan Fay, Geologist at Albion Partners, presented their research on Marsh Creek volcanics at Save…

Brandt Weary, Entomologist, received a 2018 grant from Save Mount Diablo’s Mary Bowerman Science and Research Program and presented his research at Save Mount Diablo’s 5th Annual Mary Bowerman Science…

This year’s Bioblitz was the most highly attended SMD Bioblitz since 2007, with seventy-five biologists and expert naturalists compared to the usual thirty to forty naturalists of years past. Participants came from LSA, Nomad Ecology, Swaim Biological, UC Davis, UC Berkeley, the California Academy of Sciences, and the California Native Plant Society, among others, and donated their time over the weekend.

Arroyo Del Cerro is home to the federally listed California red-legged frog and “has the potential for California tiger salamander,” said Malcolm Sproul. Other species were spotted as well, including the endemic Contra Costa manzanita. (Endemic means this species of manzanita only occurs in the area.) In total, 419 species were found, a high number that reflects the diverse habitat on the land.