Save Mount Diablo

Save Mount Diablo
Name	Save Mount Diablo
Formation	1971
Type	Nonprofit
Headquarters	Walnut Creek, California
Region	Diablo Range, Contra Costa County, Alameda County, San Joaquin County, California
Leader title	Executive Director
Leader name	David Belden
Website	Official website

Save Mount Diablo is a nonprofit land conservancy and advocacy organization focused on preserving the natural, scenic, and agricultural landscapes of the Diablo Range in Northern California. Founded in 1971, the organization works through land acquisition, conservation easements, public policy advocacy, and community partnerships to protect biologically significant habitats, watersheds, and ridgelines near San Francisco Bay Area, East Bay Regional Park District, and Mount Diablo State Park. Its activities intersect with regional planning, biodiversity conservation, and recreational access across Contra Costa County, Alameda County, San Joaquin County, and adjacent jurisdictions.

History

Save Mount Diablo traces its origins to local opposition to suburban development pressures around Mount Diablo in the late 1960s and early 1970s, a period that also saw the growth of organizations such as Sierra Club and The Nature Conservancy. Early campaigns engaged with land-use decisions by county boards and agencies including the Contra Costa County Board of Supervisors and the East Bay Regional Park District. The group’s formation paralleled landmark conservation events like the passage of the Wilderness Act era influences and regional ballot measures addressing open space, while collaborating with entities such as California Department of Fish and Wildlife and California State Parks. Over decades, Save Mount Diablo worked alongside legal advocates and planners from organizations like the National Audubon Society and local civic leaders to shape preservation outcomes for the Diablo Range and adjacent watersheds.

Mission and Goals

The organization’s mission emphasizes permanent protection of natural and scenic landscapes on and around Mount Diablo through land conservation, stewardship, and public engagement. Strategic goals include acquisition of critical parcels, establishment of conservation easements with private landowners and entities such as the East Bay Regional Park District and East Bay Municipal Utility District, and support for ecological restoration projects involving partners like Point Reyes National Seashore collaborators and regional habitat programs. Save Mount Diablo prioritizes safeguarding habitats for species listed under the California Endangered Species Act and federal Endangered Species Act, conserving water resources connected to reservoirs such as Los Vaqueros Reservoir and protecting cultural resources tied to local Miwok people heritage.

Major Campaigns and Conservation Achievements

Significant campaigns have targeted ridgeline protection, preservation of oak woodlands, and stopping large-scale subdivisions in areas bordering Mount Diablo State Park and privately owned ranchlands. Notable achievements include facilitating transfers of key parcels into public ownership with partners including the East Bay Regional Park District, the National Park Service, and county park systems; supporting creation of new parkland contiguous with Mount Diablo State Park; and winning protective designations to limit incompatible development along scenic corridors seen from San Francisco Bay. Campaigns have often referenced litigation strategies employed by groups like the Environmental Defense Fund and mobilized public ballot initiatives similar in spirit to measures backed by The Trust for Public Land and regional land trusts.

Land Acquisitions and Protected Areas

Save Mount Diablo has participated in acquisition or protection of numerous properties and conservation easements across the Diablo Range, ensuring connectivity between core reserves and working landscapes such as ranches historically associated with families and institutions in Contra Costa County and Alameda County. Protected areas tied to its efforts include expansions near Blackhawk, corridors adjacent to Briones Regional Park, and parcels linking to Morgan Territory Regional Preserve. The organization has negotiated transactions involving state agencies like California Department of Parks and Recreation and federal programs such as the Land and Water Conservation Fund, integrating stewardship plans compatible with neighbors including Sunol Regional Wilderness and Henry W. Coe State Park.

Partnerships and Community Engagement

Save Mount Diablo maintains partnerships with municipal governments, regional authorities such as the East Bay Regional Park District and Association of Bay Area Governments, conservation NGOs including The Nature Conservancy, Sierra Club, and Trust for Public Land, academic institutions like University of California, Berkeley and Stanford University for ecological research, and tribal groups representing Bay Miwok communities for cultural resource protection. Community engagement strategies include volunteer stewardship days, educational events in cooperation with local school districts and museums such as the Lindsay Wildlife Experience, and coalition-building with agricultural organizations and ranchers to secure conservation easements consistent with working landscapes.

Fundraising and Organizational Structure

As a nonprofit, the organization relies on individual donors, foundation grants from entities like the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation and regional philanthropic trusts, corporate contributions, and public funding mechanisms including state bond measures and federal grants. Fundraising campaigns leverage legacy giving, membership programs, and capital campaigns aligned with targeted land acquisitions. Governance is maintained by a board of directors drawn from legal, conservation, and business communities, while staff positions cover land transactions, stewardship, policy advocacy, and development—roles commonly coordinated with outside counsel and consultants experienced in conservation finance and land trust operations such as those employed by national organizations like Land Trust Alliance.

Category:Environmental organizations based in California Category:Land trusts in California