October 2023

It’s Almost Time!

Our 36th Annual Party and Golf Classic Fundraiser is fast approaching and we hope you’ll join us, but it’s filling up fast! The Annual Party takes place Sunday, November 19th at Stone Eagle and includes dinner, a live and silent auction and more! The Golf Classic is Monday, November 20th at Stone Eagle and includes breakfast, a professional’s clinic, lunch on the course and awards following play. Make a hole-in-one and you could win a 2023 Mercedes-Benz E 450 convertible from Mercedes-Benz of Palm Springs! Unable to attend the party or participate in the golf classic? You can be a sponsor or make a donation; no amount is too small to help. To sign up or for more information, visit our website: www.BighornInstitute.org/fundraisers

*click flyer for printable invitation

He’s Back!

The collared ram from Palm Springs that crossed ranges and spent early August to early October outside of his normal range is back in Palm Springs. This ram traveled from the northern most canyons in Palm Springs to the mountains adjacent to Palm Desert during his 2 ½ months of travels. In late October, we saw him back in the mountains above Palm Springs with other rams browsing and looking well. He traveled for the rut, as rams typically will go miles searching for ewes to breed. We’re glad we got to keep track of him since he likely bred with ewes from a different range, keeping the wild populations healthy and genetically diverse. We anticipate that he’ll remain in the mountains of Palm Springs until next summer, but if he doesn’t, we’ll let you know.

La Quinta Fence Update

The fencing company still has a December 31st deadline for completing the fence behind PGA West and Lake Cahuilla. In the meantime, we’ve met with the wildlife agencies and Coachella Valley Associations of Governments staff on a herding plan to get the sheep off of the golf course and out of the urban area after the fence is completed. It will be no easy task depending on how spread out the sheep are and where they are when the fence is completed. If the fence is completed and the sheep are herded out of the urban area before the water source is built, we’ve been assured a temporary water source will be provided until the permanent source is installed.

Seeing Sheep?

The weather has begun to cool down so it’s the perfect time to start hiking again if you’re just returning to the desert or didn’t brave the summer heat! If you enjoy hiking in the Coachella Valley you might get lucky and see bighorn sheep from one of the trails. If you do, please let us know! You can log your sheep sightings for free on iNaturalist through the app or their website. Your sightings help us keep track of the sheep since most of them are unmarked. For more information on how to get involved and become a citizen scientist, visit our website: www.BighornInstitute.org/citizen-science

Adopt-a-Bighorn

November is the month of giving! You can give someone a unique gift to say thanks and also give your support to the sheep when you Adopt-a-Bighorn! Lambs are $100, ewes and rams are $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