Mountain Star Awards

Left to Right: Assemblywoman Joan Buchanan, Phil O'Loane*, Doug Burr*, Sally Scholl*, David Loeb*, Senator Mark DeSaulnier and Dr. Doug Bell* at Save Mount Diablo's 2011 Moonlight on the Mountain. An asterisk (*) indicates a 2011 Mountain Star Award recipient.


Mountain Star Awards recognize individuals and organizations whose contributions have been significant in helping Save Mount Diablo’s land preservation programs. The 2011 Mountain Star Awards are sponsored by Dave and Dana Dornsife. Save Mount Diablo thanks them for their support.

David Loeb
Mountain Star Media Award for significant media contributions to public awareness
of Save Mount Diablo and of the mountain

Ten years ago, David Loeb co-founded Bay Nature magazine. He is publisher of the quarterly and is also executive director of the nonprofit Bay Nature Institute, based in Berkeley.

David goes far beyond being a magazine publisher. In addition to publishing in depth articles about the Mount Diablo area, he attends Save Mount Diablo hikes and events including Four Days Diablo. Whether reading or listening to him, Loeb’s passion is clear, “I started Bay Nature as a way to share my love for the natural landscapes of the Bay Area and my appreciation for the tremendous work that has been done—and is still being done—to protect and steward them. And I wanted to do this in a form that reflected the natural beauty of the region.” Under his leadership Bay Nature magazine and its amazing web portal, baynature.org, with its free naturalist-led hikes around the region have become indispensable venues for educating the public about nature, conservation, and environmental issues that are of critical importance to the region, as well as to Save Mount Diablo’s mission.

Seth Adams, Save Mount Diablo’s Land Programs Director commented, “We could as easily award David a Leadership or an Interpretive Award—he is such an accomplished advocate.” In addition to his Mountain Star Media Award, Loeb will receive this year’s “Carla Bard Award for Environmental Education” from The Bay Institute.

Dr. Doug Bell
Mary Bowerman Award for Science and Discovery for ground breaking research or important discoveries,in the spirit of botanist and Save Mount Diablo co-founder Mary Bowerman

Doug Bell, Ph.D. is the East Bay Regional Park District’s Wildlife Program Manager. As an ornithologist, Dr. Bell has a long interest in raptor ecology and conservation issues.

“Raptors are often key indicators of an area’s ecological health”, said Adams, “Doug has been the lead scientist monitoring nesting prairie falcons around Mount Diablo.” Dr. Bell continues to monitor nest sites on the mountain, banding all nestlings when they are approximately three weeks old and follows their development until fledging. Imagine climbing a hundred foot tree to band an eagle chick with six inch claws and a razor sharp beak and you’ll get the picture.

The research that Bell and others are conducting on raptors here in the East Bay will guide major science-based policy and set precedents related to wind energy development and wildlife protection. Bell hopes his work will have lasting results, “Naturalists’ accounts from a hundred years ago mention prairie falcons and golden eagles nesting on Mount Diablo. My goal is to ensure that these species, and others, will still be on the mountain a hundred years from now.”

Dr. Bell will be awarded Save Mount Diablo’s Mary Bowerman Award for Science and Discovery, named in the spirit of botanist and Save Mount Diablo co-founder Mary Bowerman, for his years of dedication to the Park District, wildlife science and conservation, and for his research related to raptors and windmills.

Doug Burr, Phil O’Loane and Sally Scholl
Mountain Star Leadership Award recognizes individuals who have made difficult and visionary contributions.

Last summer the San Ramon city council placed Measure W on the ballot. It would have expanded the voter-approved urban growth boundary (UGB) to add 3.5 more square miles, including much of the Tassajara Valley and would have created the potential for thousands of new houses.

San Ramon residents were frustrated by the actions of their City council, and three residents led a community group to challenge the city’s ballot measure. Doug Burr is a management consultant. When the San Ramon city council refused to put stop signs near a neighborhood school, he wrote an initiative to require it. Sally Scholl has lived in San Ramon for 45 years, taught in San Ramon Valley schools for 25 years and was both District and County Teacher of the Year in 1999. In her retirement she works on clean water projects in Africa. Phil O’Loane is an executive at Kaiser Permanente and was Chairman of the San Ramon Planning Commission.

Burr, O’Loane, Scholl and nearly every resident who attended the Planning Commission and City Council meetings were opposed to Measure W, as were community groups like Save Mount Diablo. O’Loane explained, "Urban Growth Boundaries are a linchpin of our community's ongoing commitment to maintaining a balanced approach to growth.”

“Burr, O’Loane, and Scholl were leaders at every level: from strategy to fundraising to doing the day-to-day work of a grassroots campaign like hand addressing thousands of postcards”, said Adams. When the dust settled, over 71% of San Ramon voters defeated Measure W, the UGB stayed where it was, and the city was stopped from expanding into the Tassajara Valley.