February 2018
Save the Date: Pizza Party Fundraiser
We are thrilled to announce we have a new spring fundraiser planned at the incredible Stone Eagle Golf Club! Join us Thursday, April 12th from 5-7pm at The Aerie, the exclusive Stone Eagle restaurant, serving up wood-fired pizza, drinks, and more! Enjoy amazing views, great raffles and a chance to win $10,000 with a hole-in-one! Stone Eagle is not open to the public so it’s going to be an evening to remember! Don’t miss this special opportunity to see Stone Eagle and support the sheep! Invitations will be mailed soon; tickets are $150/person, $250/couple and space is limited! For more information or to reserve tickets, please give us a call at 760-346-7334.
Annual Membership Meeting
Our Annual Membership Meeting was a great success with a fantastic turnout! We elected the 2018 board of directors, gave a “state of the sheep” update to the membership and a tour of our facility. Thanks to all who took the time to join us!
Outreach & Education
February was a busy month for outreach and education, which is a good thing! We gave a presentation to a local PEO (Philanthropic Education Organization) group on bighorn sheep
in the Coachella Valley. At the February 15th Rancho Mirage council meeting, we presented a bighorn sheep update to the city. Rancho Mirage has been an incredible source of support for the sheep and the Institute over the years. Finally, we had an information booth at Lake Cahuilla’s Hooked on Fishing youth fishing clinic. This was a fun event for us and the kids! While we didn’t see any bighorn sheep around the lake, we saw a juvenile Bald Eagle, which was amazing! Would you like us to give a bighorn presentation to your group? Please give us a call at (760) 346-7334 or email us at bi@bighorninstitute.org.
Lambs
We saw lots of lambs in the field in February so lambing season is in full swing! So far, there are at least 7 lambs in the San
Jacinto Mountains near Palm Springs, 15 lambs in the northern Santa Rosa Mountains near Rancho Mirage/Palm Desert and 14 lambs in the central Santa Rosa Mountains near La Quinta. We expect more lambs to be born so we’re keeping busy!
Sheep Hit Hwy 74
At the end of February, a female bighorn sheep was hit and killed by a car on Highway 74. Please be very careful driving
this road and look for bighorn sheep. There are sheep crossing signs, but we’re still waiting for Caltrans to install yellow beacon signs on top of two of these signs to better alert drivers to the presence of sheep in these mountains.
Member Hike
Our next Member Hike will be Friday, March 9th at 8:00am. We would love to have you join us, but space is limited, no dogs,
and you must RSVP for this first come first served hike. To sign up or for more information, please call us at 760-346-7334 or email us at bi@bighorninstitute.org.
Wildflower Festival
On Saturday, March 3rd, the Friends of the Desert Mountains will hold their annual Wildflower Festival at the Santa Rosa and
San Jacinto Mountains National Monument visitor’s center from 9:00am to 4:00pm. We will have a booth with bighorn information so stop by to see us! Festival festivities include a Kids’ Zone, a 5k trail fun run, and interpretive wildflower hikes. Park at St. Margaret’s church on Hwy 74 and shuttle to the festival for free. We hope to see you there!