Save Mount Diablo marks half a century of land preservation

CONTRA COSTA COUNTY, CA (Dec. 8, 2021) — Save Mount Diablo (SMD) will be celebrating its 50th anniversary with memorable events and activities throughout the year.

The non-profit will offer hikes and outings, along with a fabulous celebration in September 2022. The 50th anniversary logo is based on one of SMD’s earliest artistic renderings, capturing the spirit of the time while inspiring the future.

When Save Mount Diablo formed on Dec. 7, 1971, the mountain was home to just one 6,788-acre park. Today, there are more than 50 parks and preserves around the mountain north of Altamont Pass, totaling more than 120,000 conserved acres.

Because of SMD and partner organizations, Mount Diablo and its foothills are one of the Bay Area’s most significant assemblages of natural lands and wildlife habitats. However, few realize that its beautiful vistas are not fully preserved.

Land threatened by development

Thousands of acres of natural land on and surrounding the mountain are in private ownership and are threatened by development or other land uses. Protecting these threatened natural lands that help connect Mount Diablo to its sustaining Diablo Range are especially important in this time of the climate crisis and mass species extinction.

For the 50th anniversary, the non-profit commissioned an oral history with UC Berkeley’s Oral History Center of the Bancroft Library.

Because SMD’s many achievements over the past 50 years are the result of teamwork, the oral history includes interviews with current leaders, long-serving board and staff members, long-term and significant supporters and a few public agency partners.

SMD is also currently involved with its year-end appeal to raise critical resources for its time-sensitive land conservation mission. To learn more, visit www.savemountdiablo.org.