The ever unpopular poison oak is the most colorful plant on Mount Diablo this month, especially in certain places swept clean by the 2013 Morgan Fire.
Where Poison Oak Thrives, Mount Diablo Concludes A Red October
October 30, 2014 •
Joan Hamilton
Joan Hamilton is producer of Audible Mount Diablo, a podcast for people who love the outdoors and want to know more about the plants, animals, and history of the Bay Area. Her interest in fires was sparked by the 2013 Morgan Fire in Mount Diablo State Park. She wrote two articles and numerous web posts for Bay Nature about nature's recovery from that conflagration, and has been a fire follower ever since. Most recently, she's been working on Diablo Range Revealed, a series that explores life in the inland coast range after the SCU Lightning Complex fire. You can find evidence at savemountdiablo.org/learn/diablo-range-revealed/.
There Are Insects on Mount Diablo, and This Scientist Is Out to Find Them
October 9, 2014 •
When it comes to documenting the world’s insect life, even places like Mount Diablo are full of unknowns, which UC Berkeley entomologist Kip Will finds exciting—and frustrating.
One Year After the Morgan Fire: The Recovery in Photos
September 8, 2014 •
On the one-year anniversary of what came to be called the 2013 Morgan Fire, there’s good news to report. See the recovery in this series of slideshows by Joan Hamilton.
On Mount Diablo, Springtime in the Summer Heat
July 30, 2014 •
The temperature rises to well over 90 degrees on Mount Diablo these days—hot enough to bake many small plants. But the little green shrubs have just begun to stage their comeback. It’s springtime in the chaparral.
A Bird’s Eye View of the Morgan Fire, Now Available from Google
July 30, 2014 •
One way to check out the 2013 Morgan fire is to tromp around on Mount Diablo’s trails. Then there’s another option: check out satellite photos.
To Catch a Mouse: Chasing Mammals on Recovering Mount Diablo
July 1, 2014 •
Researchers are using hidden cameras and small mammal traps to try and answer questions about animal life following the fire.
Mammals Caught on Hidden Camera Visiting the Diablo Burn Area
July 1, 2014 •
A team of researchers, with a grant from Save Mount Diablo, has installed hidden cameras in a variety of plots around the Mount Diablo burn area to see what sort of large wildlife shows up.
What a Great Wildflower Year Looks Like in the Spring
June 3, 2014 •
Regular visitors to Mount Diablo are calling this spring one of the best wildflower years they’ve ever seen. Here’s what that looked like in May in the Morgan Fire burn area.
What Follows a Fire? A Mount Diablo Botany Quiz
May 12, 2014 •
After a fire, botanists hustle out to burned areas to identify surviving and regenerating species. They’ve often got only a few leaves to go on, some from species that haven’t been seen for decades. So it’s tough. Want to test your skills against those of the botanists?
Fire Followers Arrive, with Scientists Right Behind
May 9, 2014 •
An expert in rare plants, Heath Bartosh is especially interested in “fire followers,” plants whose seeds stay buried in the ground until heat or smoke stimulates germination. These annuals flourish for one to three years. And then they’re gone—until the next fire.