For a number of years I have been a licensed wildlife guide specializing in wildlife photography trips. I've guided many nationally published photographers who urged me to start taking my own photographs. Three years ago I was approached by Tom Bernardo (former Supervising Ranger) and the Mount Diablo Interpretive Association to document Mount Diablo wildlife. Since then, I have become the unofficial resident wildlife photographer.

While establishing my career as a wildlife photographer, I continued to guide and was recently hired by film makers for Nature. The film makers were working on a documentary about ground squirrels and the valuable role they play in the food chain. Within four days on Mount Diablo, we were able to film fourteen coyotes at close range and a bobcat hunting in front of us for thirty minutes before he even realized we were there! "The Seven Lives of the Ground Squirrel" includes many wildlife scenes of Mount Diablo.

Another recent project on the mountain which received a great deal of attention was the peregrine cross fostering project. Last year was the second consecutive year that Save Mount Diablo, wildlife biologist Gary Beeman and a host of others successfullyreintroduced peregrine falcons on the mountain. On the day the peregrine falcon chicks were placed in the nest of prairie falcons, world-renowned photographer Galen Rowell documented the event. Cross fostering was part of a story for National Geographic on the successful recovery of the peregrine falcon in California. See the April, 1991 article in National Geographic on cross-fostering for more information about this project.

Mount Diablo is the single most valuable remaining wildlife habitat in the East Bay and it deserves the attention it has been receiving. From its cool damp washes and creek beds shaded by bay trees, to its dry rock and brushy peak, it is the premiere wildlife habitat in the Bay Area rivaled only by Marin County's foresighted open space.

Mount Diablo is one of the last areas in the Bay Area where mountain lions raise their young, golden eagles nest, and bobcats can be seen by the observant. After successfully photographing bobcats, golden eagles, foxes, coyotes, and other predators, I am presently working on the long-term project of photographing the mountain lions.

Because I am so frequently in the back country looking for wildlife and their tracks, I am regularly asked about the larger predators and their populations. I am not aware of any comprehensive population studies that have taken place on Mount Diablo. However, I have a rough idea about a few of the species. Studies in Southern California have shown that when an area loses its coyote population, its ecosystem is thrown out of balance for most of the other mammals. I am happy to report that Mount Diablo will not experience this problem - it has one of the largest East Bay coyote populations.

Another predator that is also important, but much less tenacious, is the bobcat. I believe Mount Diablo has the largest bobcat population in the East Bay. However, the population is still not very large. If private land bordering the park continues to be lost to development, essential wildlife corridors will be lost forever and genetic inbreeding could become a problem.

A few golden eagles nest annually on the mountain. However, I have great concern over the heavy toll the windmills at Altamont Pass are taking on the entire raptor population of the East Bay A biologist recently informed me, off the record, that the remains of 29 eagles were found after they had unfortunately flown into the blades 6f the windmills.

The animal population I am most frequently asked about is that of the mountain lion, also called the puma or cougar. There are twenty-seven different subspecies. The local variety is one of the largest subspecies, but it has become extinct in may of the areas where it once thrived. It would not be entirely accurate to say that there is a mountain lion population on Mount Diablo. Lions have been known to range over 20 miles in one night. They use Mount Diablo as part of their range. No other animal presents a stronger case for the importance of wildlife corridors, such as the one connecting Mount Diablo with Morgan Territory park, and with Black Diamond Mines Regional Park.

Over the years, there have been many mountain lion sightings. Here's a glimpse of a few recent ones: a very large, dark-colored mountain lion was seen on Mount Diablo in the Pine Canyon area; a mountain lion and cub tracks appeared around my photography blind while I slept one night in 1989 on Mount Diablo, and; a mountain lion and cub (I believe the same pair) were spotted a few weeks later near Danville. Still another sighting of an adolescent occurred on the road near Juniper campground in 1990. All three of these young lion sightings were probably the same lion. I also got a fleeting glimpse of an adult last year in the Morgan Territory area. Based on these sightings and others, I believe a handful of mountain lions use Mount Diablo as part of their range. While it may be true that Mount Diablo is the most important part of their range, with. out corridors to other protected lands, they will probably not survive in the area.There are countless good reasons to support the existence of Save Mount Diablo and Mount Diablo Interpretive Association, ensuring the continued presence of the mountain lion on Mount Diablo, after a millennium, is in itself ample motivation.