We were wowed by the amazing research presented this year at our Mary Bowerman Science and Research colloquium! Presenters gave us an inside look on some groundbreaking work on tule elk, scorpions, local carnivorous ground squirrels, and more. We'll be uploading videos to YouTube soon. Stay tuned!

We're closing out a year of historic conservation victories for Mount Diablo and its sustaining Diablo Range. Today, we're more than 70 percent to our year-end fundraising goal, and we need your support! savemountdiablo.org/donate

We're gearing up for planting season! 🌱 Our stewardship team recently purchased a variety of native plants including silver bush lupine and California rose. Help us put some plants in the ground: savemountdiablo.volunteerhub.com/vv2/lp/smddi... 📸: Scott Hein, Laura Kindsvater and Haley Sutton

Having once reached the verge of local extinction, Bay Area burrowing owls are making a comeback thanks to POST, Santa Clara Valley Habitat Agency, Santa Clara Valley Open Space Authority, and Talon. Over 120 adult burrowing owls were observed in Santa Clara County this year (in 2020 it was 35)!

This summer, the Tri-Valley Conservancy protected 1,168 acres in Doolan Canyon through a conservation easement. This was a major conservation victory for the Diablo region, protecting land in a key Diablo Range wildlife corridor.

The final decision in our lawsuit against the city of Dublin has been made—we won! The open space between Dublin and Livermore remains protected, the Dublin Urban Limit Line will remain intact, and the Crosby property can’t be developed commercially.

Happy International Mountain Day! Mountains have deep meaning to people, including here in the Bay Area. On Pearl Harbor Day, people look to Mount Diablo to see the Beacon be lit in honor of our veterans. 📸: Ted Clement

Our Mangini Preserve pollinator gardens are thriving! Our team spotted this hummingbird enjoying the California fuchsia at our Mangini Preserve just the other day. California fuchsia (Epilobium canum) is one of the native plants that we've planted in our pollinator gardens. 📸: Sean Burke

Good news for nature! A new study found that recorded extinctions peaked ~100 years ago, especially for plants and some animals. We may be able to avoid the worst of our mass-extinction fears. ➡ www.wienslab.com/Publications_files/Saban_Wiens_PRSL_2025.pdf 📸: Scott Hein

Please make a gift for the mountain to help us continue our conservation momentum through next year, and beyond. Because of you, Save Mount Diablo and its partners have nearly tripled the size of Mount Diablo State Park since 1971. Thank you! savemountdiablo.org/donate 📸: @heinphoto.bsky.social

Chinook salmon have now been spotted in the upper Alameda Creek watershed! This is the first time the salmon have accessed this area of their own accord since the 1950s, says CalTrout. 📸: Chinook salmon by Dan Sarka www.sfgate.com/local/articl...

Enjoy spectacular views of Los Vaqueros Reservoir as well as the serene solitude that only nature can provide on the Cañada Trail. This short and beautiful trail is a gateway into the Mount Diablo region's wilderness and provides an excellent challenge. 📸: Karen Bakar

Thanks to you, we soared to our Giving Tuesday goal! In the face of mounting development threats and climate change, this work is more necessary than ever. Every dollar you donated on Giving Tuesday will help Mount Diablo thrive. Thank you. 📸: Sean Burke

We are overjoyed to share that as of today, one of Mount Diablo’s last privately owned inholdings is now permanently protected! Bob Nunn has generously donated the Nunn-Paulsen inholding to Save Mount Diablo in memory of his late father, Ron Nunn.

Let's go WILD for Mount Diablo on #GivingTuesday. Tomorrow, every dollar you give, up to $10,000, will be doubled by two generous donors, Jim and Bette Felton! This is your chance to make your money go twice as far for nature. savemountdiablo.org/donate

Today, we're skipping the Black Friday shopping and getting outside to celebrate #GreenFriday! 🌳⛰ #OptOutside today and check out our online guide to hikes up and down the #DiabloRange: savemountdiablo.org/experience/f... 📸: Scott Hein, Emily Sherwood, and Mary Nagle

Today, we're giving thanks to the extraordinary community who makes Save Mount Diablo's ambitious work possible, to our staff and supporters, and, of course, to Mount Diablo's awe-inspiring wild lands. 📸: Shannon Grover, Laura Kindsvater, Kendall Oei, and Jessamyn Photography

Meet California's blue oak (Quercus douglasii)! Oaks support the largest number of butterflies and moths in North America as a host plant. They are among the best things to plant to support wildlife, including a wide variety of mammals and birds. 📸: Mary Nagle and Laura Kindsvater

Badgers like this are still rare in the Mount Diablo region, but thanks to conservation work up and down the Diablo Range, they're coming back. Your support helps them have a place to return to in the East Bay. savemountdiablo.org/donate Photo: Scott Hein

With the start of the season's rain upon us, water is returning to Marsh Creek and Curry Creek and the leaves are turning on the sycamores, big leaf maples, and cottonwoods. Get the inside scoop on our #stewardship work, check out our new stewardship update ⬇️

Our outdoor education program just got a bit bigger with the creation of our new fall camps! About 80 students visited our lands over the course of a week this October, pitching in on service projects and enjoying nature. bit.ly/SMD-fall-CARES 📸: Emily Sherwood

We're delighted to share that a generous anonymous donor will be matching up to $100,000 of your donations toward our year-end fundraising goal. Thanks to their support, your gift will make twice the impact! savemountdiablo.org/donate Photo: Scott Hein

This September, at least three California condors paid the East Bay a visit! Since 2021, when a California condor returned to Mount Diablo for the first time in over a century, condors have been flying up to our area every year as their territory continues to expand.

Our wild lands are threatened by development and climate change. They need your support. In just two weeks, you will have the chance to help our wild neighbors survive and thrive. Mark your calendars for Giving Tuesday on December 2nd! savemountdiablo.org/donate 📸: Scott Hein

Today is #NationalTakeAHikeDay! Sounds like a great reason to get outside and explore Mount Diablo to us! Need some new hike ideas? Check out our favorite trails on Mount Diablo and up and down the Diablo Range. ⬇️⬇️⬇️

Del Puerto Canyon is at risk! Please speak out to oppose the proposed Del Puerto Canyon reservoir at the next California Water Commission meeting, and submit your written comment by Nov. 17. cwc.ca.gov/-/media/CWC-Website/Files/Documents/2025/11_November/November2025_Agenda_Final.pdf

November is #NativeAmericanHeritageMonth! Learn more about the history of Mount Diablo's native peoples here, and how you can support them:

Caught on camera 📸 This great blue heron stopped by one of our properties for a drink. The great blue heron has a range that stretches from as far north as Alaska all the way down to Venezuela. They can be found mostly along shorelines and marshlands. source: allaboutbirds.org

This Friday and Saturday, you have the opportunity to spend a day, or two, outside giving back to the mountain we all love. Join our Pine Canyon Cleanup! savemountdiablo.volunteerhub.com/vv2/lp/smddirt/ 📸: 2024 Pine Canyon Cleanup, chipping along the Knobcone Point Trail | Mary Nagle

Tomorrow night, we will honor Veterans Day by lighting the Beacon atop Mount Diablo's summit. The Beacon will shine down on the Diablo region until it is rested at sunrise. savemountdiablo.org/experience/e... 📸: Stephen Joseph

With steep ridges and a vast network of trails, Las Trampas Regional Wilderness Preserve offers visitors a true sense of wilderness despite its proximity to the bustling Highway 680 corridor. savemountdiablo.org/blog/las-tra... 📸: Karen Bakar

For millennia, the Altamont Pass has been a critical thoroughfare for both wildlife and people. It is the single most important corridor connecting #MountDiablo to the rest of the #DiabloRange. Today, protecting Altamont is one of our top acquisition goals.

Meet the lesser goldfinch (Spinus psaltria)! This yellow-bellied songbird can be found in a variety of habitats including open brushy country, open woods, streamside areas, and gardens. Its habitat stretches from Washington State all the way to the Peruvian Andes. 📸: Laura Kindsvater

Join us on the mountain for our annual Pine Canyon Cleanup! 📆: November 14-15 We'll be hosting volunteer events in collaboration with Mount Diablo State Park and the East Bay Regional Park District. savemountdiablo.volunteerhub.com/vv2/lp/smddi...

Exciting news about a bill we've worked on to help improve California State Parks’ land acquisition process: It passed! This new law will take effect in January, and will make it much easier for #California State Parks to acquire more land!

When we acquire land, it is often far from untouched. In recent years, we’ve carted away tens of thousands of pounds of material, such as scrap metal and tires, clearing obstructions that have, in some cases, impacted Mount Diablo’s wildlife for decades. savemountdiablo.org/blog/restori...

From stargazing to tarantula hikes and the world’s first Trashure Hunt, get a closer look our #stewardship team's latest fall adventures: savemountdiablo.org/blog/stargaz...

The endangered caper-fruited tropidocarpum has been discovered in Vasco Hills Regional Preserve on protected land acquired by the East Bay Regional Park District in partnership with the East Contra Costa County Habitat Conservancy. This rare plant hadn't been seen for 68 years!

Vámanos en una caminata fácil para buscar aves en la Bay Point Regional Shoreline. Juan Pablo Galván, observador de aves y naturalista, liderará junto con Roxana Lucero, naturalista y residente de Bay Point, tanto en inglés como en español. www.eventbrite.com/e/las-aves-d... 📸: Laura Kindsvater

Today is the #InternationalDayofClimateAction! Here are six things that Save Mount Diablo is doing RIGHT NOW to take action on climate. Want to know how you can help? We'll post some links in the thread. 👇

The City of Dublin and developers have filed an objection to our legal victory over Dublin Measure II. We are very confident the judge’s decision will not change, that our victory will be upheld. We’ll keep you updated. Read the full press release here.

This Saturday, October 25th, at 9 AM, tune into the Ventana Wildlife Society live stream to watch seven condors get released into the wild! www.eleoonline.net/Pages/WebFor... www.ventanaws.org/condor_cam.html 📸: California condor at Pinnacles National Park | @heinphoto.bsky.social

Thank you Assemblymember Nick Schultz for authoring AB 1319, and thank you @gavinnewsom.bsky.social for signing it into law! Now, our state's most at-risk species have a chance even if Trump weakens endangered species protections! 📸: Chris Lyall

Explore the awe-inspiring Del Puerto Canyon on this short hike; you might catch a glimpse of rare wildflowers, birds, or other wildlife! The canyon's biodiversity is in the top five for the Diablo Range. ➡ savemountdiablo.org/blog/del-puerto-canyon-a-short-hike-via-frank-raines-regional-park/

Pollinators are in danger—but the California sunflower is stepping up as a superhero. It supports 60 native bee species and attracts birds. Small plant, big impact. #Pollinators #NativePlants

Our Marsh Creek 7 property has been becoming a haven for pollinators and other wildlife over the past three years! This summer and fall, our team is actively watering more than 700 plants on our Marsh Creek 7 property. savemountdiablo.org/blog/restori... 📸: Haley Sutton and Mary Nagle

Good news: Several California wildlife crossings are already a success! Wildlife crossings are being built all over the world. The largest one on the planet, the Wallis Annenberg wildlife crossing, will be finished in the fall of 2026 near LA. #wildlifecrossings save lives. We need more of them!

Celebrate climate solutions at the Bay Area Cool Down, a half-day climate literacy festival on October 25th, at The Starry Plough in Berkeley! 🌎 www.eventbrite.com/e/the-bay-ar...

We recently won a year-long lawsuit against the City of Dublin! The lawsuit opposed the city's decision to put Measure II on the ballot without environmental review. Measure II would've allowed for commercial development, like warehouses, destroying the greenbelt between Dublin and Livermore.

Thank you to the wonderful group who joined us for our fall Discover Diablo #hike at Borges Ranch! Together, we explored the wonders of Walnut Creek's open space on this three-mile hike. Sign up for our upcoming #DiscoverDiablo hikes: savemountdiablo.org/discoverdiablo 📸: Karen Bakar