April 2025
- Bighorn Institute
- Apr 30
- 4 min read
Super Spring Fling!
Bighorn Institute’s 7th annual Spring Fling was held on April 8th at the exclusive Stone Eagle Golf Club and was a great success! Everyone enjoyed the beautiful desert views, a delicious dinner, live and silent auctions and lovely music by Midnight Sun, a father and son duo. This year, we added a paddle raise, which helped bring in much-needed funds. It was great to see our supporters and spend time with them and we appreciate everyone who supported this event. Thank you to all of our sponsors, donors, and guests for making this an evening to remember!
La Quinta Fence Update
We last provided a fence update in October 2024, and it wasn’t good news. The fence along PGA West was ineffective in keeping bighorn sheep out and the breach or issue hadn’t been found. An access gate was opened up and bait was provided to try to get sheep out, but unfortunately, that backfired and many more sheep got in. However, since that time, CA Fish and Wildlife did some research and found a unique one-way gate that allows sheep to exit, but not re-enter. They have worked to get the sheep out since the end of January and most sheep are now out of PGA West, which is good news. This is the most dangerous area for the sheep due to the canal and the number of sheep that have fallen in and drowned there, as well as the rampant illegal feeding of sheep by the residents and guests. The sheep have now moved to Tradition, which has not gone unnoticed by their residents; many are not happy with this recent influx of sheep. The HOA is already asking for a meeting to see what can be done, but they say it will be up to the golf course to allow a fence to be built. We’ll keep you posted, but ultimately, a fence will be needed to get sheep out of Tradition.
*A ram watches as other sheep go down to the golf course
Joint Education Effort - Dogs on Trails
In early April, the Friends of the Desert Mountains held a “pop up” event in which Bighorn Institute, Coachella Valley Mountains Conservancy and the Bureau of Land Management had a booth and a tent in Cathedral City near the Cathedral Canyon Trail to educate dog walkers and hikers that dogs are not permitted on the trails and conservation land in the area. We had brochures and materials available to let people know where they could hike/walk their dogs in the mountains and explained the issues with dogs in bighorn sheep habitat. Bighorn sheep see dogs as canine predators so they teach their young lambs to flee. If they habituate to the presence of dogs, the lambs would be more vulnerable to coyotes. If the sheep don’t habituate to dogs, they can be in a constant state of stress from adding a potential predator to their environment, which is not good.
Here are a couple of news stories that resulted:
Rancho Mirage Earth Day Celebration
Bighorn Institute participated in the City of Rancho Mirage’s inaugural Earth Day celebration on April 22nd held the Rancho Mirage Library and it was a great day to educate people about the endangered Peninsular bighorn sheep! There were a number of kids that attended so we were able to engage with them and provide them with coloring sheets and puzzles, sheep pictures, stickers and more. We had a number of items on-hand to teach people about the sheep and our work, including horn sheaths and a radio-collar and receiver. We look forward to participating again next year!
*From left: BI Conservation Assistant, Justice Finnell, Volunteer, Phil Sklar, Board Member, Judy Sanders
Teaching and Speaking
In mid-April, we traveled down to Anza-Borrego Desert State Park to speak with a group of grad students in the Advanced Inquiry Program (AIP) master’s program with Miami University, in partnership with San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance. We were happy to partner with them and will continue to do so in the future.
In late-April, we gave a talk to the Cahuilla Chapter, National Society Daughters of the American Revolution (NSDAR). It was a great group of women who were glad to learn more about our local bighorn sheep. If you would like a bighorn sheep presentation for your group, give us a call (760-346-7334) or email us (bi@bighorninstitute.org); we’d love to come talk to you!
*Grad group at Anza-Borrego Desert State Park
Save the Date: Fall Fundraiser
We’re excited to announce our Annual Party and Golf Classic will take place Sunday and Monday, November 16th and 17th at the beautiful Stone Eagle Golf Club! This is the Institute’s primary fundraiser and is an event you don’t want to miss so mark your calendars and tell your friends! The Annual Party takes place Sunday evening and the Golf Classic is on Monday. All proceeds benefit the endangered Peninsular bighorn.
Mother’s Day Gift Ideas
Need a special gift for your mother? Here are a few ideas that may please your mother and help support the endangered Peninsular bighorn sheep!
Give a gift membership to the Institute – memberships start at just $25/year, are tax-deductible & they can join our member hikes!
Adopt a Bighorn – $100 for a lamb, $150 for a ewe or ram: www.bighorninstitute.org/adopt-a-bighorn
Feed the captive herd for a week - $150 (donation only-not actual feeding)
Help track radio-collared bighorn for a month - $500 (donation only – BI does the monitoring)
To donate, please visit our website www.BighornInstitute.org, email (bi@bighorninstitute.org) or call us at 760-346-7334.
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