February 2020
3rd Annual Spring Fling Fundraiser April 9th
The Spring Fling fundraiser is a not-to-be-missed event at the ultra-exclusive Stone Eagle in Palm Desert. Join us Thursday, April 9th from 5pm-7pm for amazing views, delicious food and drinks, raffles, and more! Plus, we’ll have a putting contest with great prizes! Tickets are $150/person or $250/couple. Would you consider being a sponsor? Party Sponsorship is $1,000 and includes 2 tickets to the Spring Fling and advertising. Sponsorships are totally tax-deductible! Invitations have been mailed. For more information or to buy tickets, visit our website www.bighorninstitute.org/fundraisers or give us a call at 760-346-7334.
Annual Membership Meeting
Bighorn Institute’s Annual Membership Meeting was held February 1st at the Institute. We talked about our accomplishments in 2019, plans for 2020 and elected the Board of Directors. It was great to see some new faces and it’s always a pleasure to see our returning members. We want to thank everyone that was able to join us!
Tour de Palm Springs a Success
The Tour de Palm Springs took place February 8th and Bighorn Institute was one of the charities for which this event raised funds. We appreciate the support of all of the walkers/bike riders that participated on our behalf and those who purchased raffle tickets. Every dollar allows us to continue to help the bighorn sheep and we thank you!
Lambs a Leaping
It’s been a busy month for fieldwork with lots of new lambs on the ground, particularly in the mountains near La Quinta and Palm Springs. We’ve seen nearly two dozen lambs in the central Santa Rosa Mountains around La Quinta, more than ten lambs in the San Jacinto Mountains near Palm Springs and a handful of lambs in the northern Santa Rosa Mountains (NSRM) near Rancho Mirage/Palm Desert. A number of fall lambs were born to ewes in the NSRM so we don’t expect those ewes to give birth until later this spring. There are many more pregnant ewes so we’ll continue to track them closely to see when they give birth and keep you posted!
Member Hike
Our February Member hike saw success with ewes and lambs spotted! Our next Member Hike will be on Wednesday, March 11th 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 March 7th
The 13th Annual Coachella Valley Wildflower Festival will take place Saturday, March 7th, from 9am-4pm at the Palm Desert Civic Center Park. We will have a booth with bighorn information so stop by to say hello and catch up on the sheep here in our valley! This free, fun-filled event will feature local vendors and exhibitors, a kids' zone, beer & wine garden with live music, and more. Come on out!
Calling All Citizen Scientists
Did you know that you can help the Institute keep track of the Peninsular bighorn sheep,
their lambs and overall health of the herds? It is super quick and easy! All that you have to do is log your sightings in our Bighorn Institute project on iNaturalist. For instructions on using the free iNaturalist app, visit our website: https://www.bighorninstitute.org/inaturalist-project
Upcoming Events
Wildflower Festival, March 7th – come visit our booth!
Rancho Mirage Library Talk, March 26th – learn about our local Peninsular bighorn sheep
3rd Annual Spring Fling, April 9th - fabulous fundraiser at Stone Eagle!
Wish List
Golf Cart – we use electric carts to get around our 300 acre property to minimize disturbance to the
sheep
Field receiver - $1,000 – allows us to track the radio-collared bighorn sheep
Amazon Smile
Did you know when you shop on Amazon you could be earning money for the sheep without having to do anything extra? Just log into your Amazon account at smile.amazon.com and choose Bighorn Institute as your charity of choice. We’ll get 0.5% of every purchase you make and from now on, just shop at smile.amazon.com. Thanks for your support!
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