Friends of the Desert Mountains

06/19/2026

Thank you Desert Recreation District Indio Summer Camp for inviting us to spend a morning with you at Shumway Ranch!

We had fun identifying plants, enjoying the cooler weather on the mountain, and drawing our favorite scenes from our nature walk 🌿

We also learned about staying safe on our hiking trails during the summer. Make sure you’re avoiding the summer heat by enjoying the outdoors during the early mornings and late evenings, or head up to explore the mountains for cooler weather! ⛰️

06/18/2026

𝗖𝗔𝗨𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡! 𝗕𝗜𝗚𝗛𝗢𝗥𝗡 𝗖𝗥𝗢𝗦𝗦𝗜𝗡𝗚!

Join our awareness campaign to remind folks to SLOW DOWN for the Bighorns! It takes all of us looking out for the endangered Peninsular Bighorn Sheep (Ovis canadensis nelsoni) - especially on our increasingly busy roads and highways anywhere near their habitat in the Santa Rosa and San Jacinto Mountains National Monument. Almost every city that borders the mountains are experiencing the Bighorns coming into contact with our growing urban areas right now, so please use caution!

PROCEEDS FROM SHIRT SALES SUPPORT OUR ADVOCACY WORK!
https://www.bonfire.com/bighorn-crossing-sign/ [store link in bio]

06/17/2026

Terrific opportunity to put your EMT & OHV skills to use protecting the desert:

The BLM is hiring Off-Highway Vehicle Park Rangers in Southern California! ☀️

We're looking for nationally registered EMTs who love the outdoors, care about responsible OHV recreation, and want a career managing America's public lands.

Positions are available at the Barstow and El Centro Field Offices.
As a BLM OHV Park Ranger, you'll respond to OHV-related emergencies, conduct permit compliance checks and safety inspections, provide visitor education, promote responsible OHV recreation, and help monitor and maintain trails and OHV areas.

Read the full job requirements and qualifications, and apply by June 30!

El Centro: https://ow.ly/4seZ50ZcqZN..

Barstow: https://ow.ly/sHR950Zcr2K

06/13/2026

🚨 Take action: Tell Congress to invest in nature by increasing funding for the Bureau of Land Management to ensure the agency has the staff they need to manage, protect, and maintain today and for future generations: https://www.conservationlands.org/tell-congress-to-fund-public-lands [link in bio]
The Administration is proposing a 34% funding cut to the Bureau of Land Management’s 2027 budget. This would be devastating to the largest amount of public land, water sources, and ecosystems in the country.

Properly funding the the agency means they can:

👩🏽‍🚒 Improve public lands management and ensure visitor safety
🏜️ Protect Indigenous and other cultural resources
🦌 Restore fish and wildlife habitat after years of neglect
🚵🏽‍♀️ Improve visitor experience, recreational infrastructure and rural economic recovery
🌎 Restore degraded lands and waters for climate change mitigation

Protect California Deserts
Conservation Lands Foundation
Secretary Doug Burgum
U.S. Department of the Interior
Congressman Raul Ruiz, MD
Congressman Ken Calvert

06/13/2026

🚨URGENT: Funding for Public lands Matters and Your Voice is Needed!

The Administration is trying to bankrupt the largest public land management agency in the country. In its proposed Fiscal Year 2027 federal budget, the Administration wants to slash the Bureau of Land Management’s budget by more than 34%, which would devastate visitor access and safety, wildfire management, and local watersheds. 🚻

Take a minute now to send a letter urging your members of Congress to reject the administration's proposed budget cuts and to fund the Bureau of Land Management at a level that reflects its mission to oversee the health of the majority of the country’s public lands: https://www.conservationlands.org/tell-congress-to-fund-public-lands / link in bio

Congress has the power and responsibility to reject these cuts and fund the agency – and they need to hear from YOU! 📣

Let's work together to protect public lands for everyone to enjoy. Act now! 📬📝

06/11/2026

🚨URGENT: Funding for Public lands Matters and Your Voice is Needed!

The Administration is trying to bankrupt the largest public land management agency in the country. In its proposed Fiscal Year 2027 federal budget, the Administration wants to slash the Bureau of Land Management’s budget by more than 34%, which would devastate visitor access and safety, wildfire management, and local watersheds. 🚻

Take a minute now to send a letter urging your members of Congress to reject the administration's proposed budget cuts and to fund the Bureau of Land Management at a level that reflects its mission to oversee the health of the majority of the country’s public lands: https://www.conservationlands.org/tell-congress-to-fund-public-lands [link in bio]

Congress has the power and responsibility to reject these cuts and fund the agency – and they need to hear from YOU! 📣

Let's work together to protect public lands for everyone to enjoy. Act now! 📬📝


Conservation Lands Foundation
Secretary Doug Burgum
U.S. Department of the Interior

06/11/2026

𝐇𝐎𝐍𝐊 𝐇𝐎𝐍𝐊!
Our latest T-shirt honors the iconic-and-still-endangered Peninsular Ranges Bighorns - and reminds you to slow down when these magnificent animals are around [like on Highway 74!] Choose your color, style annd size - proceeds benefit Friends of the Desert Mountains. linkinbio |
https://www.bonfire.com/bighorn-crossing/

06/11/2026

06/10/2026

🚨Take action today to tell Congress to reject the Adminstration’s proposed steep budget and staffing cuts to the Bureau of Land Management: link in bio | https://www.conservationlands.org/tell-congress-to-fund-public-lands

The BLM manages more acres of public land than any other U.S. federal land management agency, but has been underfunded and understaffed for decades.

The administration’s proposed cuts to the agency include:

34 percent cut to its total budget and a 27 percent reduction in staff
76 percent cut to the National Conservation Lands (38 million acres of protected public lands)
61 percent cut to recreation management (trails, campsite, and visitor services)
Complete elimination of funding for cultural resources and wilderness management

The Administration's budget sends a clear message: that the administration doesn't believe the Bureau of Land Management should manage public lands for anything that isn’t extractive, ultimately paving the way for the wholesale sell-off of these lands. Tell Congress to fund public lands!

Conservation Lands Foundation
Secretary Doug Burgum
U.S. Department of the Interior