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In 2019, Save Mount Diablo’s Annual BioBlitz was held from Friday, May 3 to Saturday, May 4 at Save Mount Diablo’s own Mangini Ranch and the City of Walnut Creek’s Lime Ridge Open Space. There were 36 scientists and researchers at the event. In total, 349 species were found: two amphibian species, five arachnid species, 76 bird species, one chilopoda species, two fungal species, 156 insect species, six mammal species, 96 plant species, and five reptile species.

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.