September 2022

Mark Your Calendar

Our 40th Anniversary Annual Party and Golf Classic is fast approaching and will take place Sunday and Monday, November 20th and 21st at Stone Eagle Golf Club! We’re looking forward to celebrating with you; invitations will be mailed out by mid-October. We hope you can join us for this exciting milestone that wouldn’t be possible without supporters like YOU!

Recent Rainfall

We FINALLY got rain this month! Until September, we had only received ½” of rain at the Institute all year. We were thrilled to get 1.30” of rain on September 10th! A few areas in the valley had some flooding, but luckily, our 300 acre property fared well. When we get a quarter of our average annual rainfall in one day, it can do some serious damage. We’re now up to a whopping 2” of rain this year and hopefully, more is on the way. In the meantime, the sheep are loving the new lush vegetation.

*A ram eating a greened-up Ocotillo

Population Project

San Diego State University (SDSU) has a Ph.D. student who would like to assess and analyze the population of Peninsular bighorn sheep over the past 20 years as well as recovery goals. Since Bighorn Institute and CA Fish and Wildlife have the data, we’re joining in as collaborative partners on this project. It’s going to be a multi-year project that will result in a professional publication. We’re looking forward to working with SDSU and will keep you posted on the project’s progression.

Lamb Hit and Fence Update

Apparently, the Coachella Valley Conservation Commission (CVCC) announced at their September 15th meeting that fence construction in La Quinta would begin Monday, September 19th, but it hasn’t happened yet. We’re not sure what the hold-up is; 44 sheep have died in this urban area since the fence was mandated in 2014. This fence phase will be along PGA West and Lake Cahuilla. Sheep at PGA West are illegally fed by residents and visitors and many sheep have drowned in the canal along PGA West so this is an area we’re anxious to have off-limits to the sheep. This is particularly pertinent as a lamb was hit by a car in PGA West on September 28th. Luckily, it walked away from the incident, but we’re not sure if it has internal injuries, which is all the more reason for the fence to get started as soon as possible. We’ll keep you updated.

*The yellow line is the fence alignment along PGA West and lake Cahuilla

Outreach and Education

Want to learn more about the sheep and the Institute? We will be giving a talk at the Cal State University San Bernardino Palm Desert campus for the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI) on Tuesday, October 11th. The event is free, but you must be an OLLI member to attend; membership is $50. If you know anyone who may be interested in our bighorn presentation, please let them know. Thanks!

Need a Cool Gift? Adopt-a-Bighorn!

Need a unique gift or just want to support the sheep? You can Adopt-a-Bighorn. Lambs are $100 and a ewe or ram is $150 each. Adoptions include a certificate, a 4x6 color photograph of your endangered Peninsular bighorn sheep, a bighorn sheep fact sheet, a year’s subscription to our e-newsletter, and a year’s membership with the Institute. All adoptions are 100% tax-deductible! Visit our website to adopt-a-bighorn: https://www.bighorninstitute.org/adopt-a-bighorn

Recent News:

La Quinta City Council unanimously rejects Coral Mountain project, wave pool