Local environmental conservation group Save Mount Diablo continues to expand its listing of protected lands, and has most recently become the proud new owner of the strategically located 28.73-acre Smith Canyon property.
Located just east of Clayton, Save Mount Diablo officials say Smith Canyon provides legal and practical access from a public road to Save Mount Diablo’s conserved 1,080.53-acre Curry Canyon Ranch as well as Mount Diablo State Park from Morgan Territory Road.
“The Smith Canyon property is an incredible recreational gateway to the magical Curry Canyon on the east side of Mount Diablo,” Ted Clement, Save Mount DIablo's Executive Director, said in a statement. “But what also strikes me about the property is that it has great potential as a beautiful stand-alone preserve by itself."
“How often do you get to save an entire canyon,” added Seth Adams, Save Mount Diablo's Land Conservation Director. “Smith Canyon is lovely. It’s one main lushly wooded stream canyon with several smaller drainages rising to ridges on either side and toward a small peak on our neighboring Curry Canyon Ranch."
The land is contiguous with Save Mount Diablo’s conserved Curry Canyon Ranch, and according to Save Mount Diablo officials, its conservation "adds to the important corridor of conserved lands in the Mount Diablo area, which is critical for wildlife and water resources."
In addition to providing additional access to Save Mount Diablo's numerous protected areas, officials added that the area is populated with a wide variety of natural animal and plant life worth conserving.
According to Save Mount Diablo Smith Canyon's diverse landscapes include blue oak woodlands, grasslands and a live oak-bay riparian corridor. The land is also home to the California red-legged frog and the Alameda Whipsnake -- two species considered vulnerable and endangered respectively, due to loss of habitat among other issues.
The oak woodland, oak savanna, and grasslands on the property also serve as a carbon sink, which the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has said is a critical part of the solution to climate change.
"Land conservation mitigates against climate change in lasting ways. For example, forests and other undeveloped lands absorb greenhouse gases, thereby acting as carbon sinks, keeping those gases out of the atmosphere," Save Mount Diablo officials said.
Furthermore, conservation officials say the land also affords beautiful scenic vistas to passersby on the public Morgan Territory Road.
“Despite limited rain this spring, it’s bright green and wildflowers are appearing everywhere. There were several approved subdivisions on the property that luckily never took place, but the large building pads show how threatened it has been. Its purchase is another piece in our Curry Canyon puzzle and ends that threat forever," Adams said.
Smith Canyon is one of several properties Save Mount Diablo is raising funds to protect through its Forever Wild Capital Campaign, which seeks to raise $15 million in order to provide the group the resources necessary to purchase and adequately steward the land.
To date, just over $13 million has been raised for the campaign, which has enabled Save Mount Diablo to do strategic land acquisition projects, like its Curry Canyon Ranch and North Peak Ranch projects, and helped build a sizable permanent Stewardship Endowment Fund for the ongoing care of protected lands.
“We’re looking for angels,” said Karen Ferriere, SMD’s Development Director, about the need to raise the $650,000 purchase price and replenish the acquisition funds that were used to cover the real estate closing, “and talking to everyone we can.”
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