Board

President’s Letter

If you thought summer hiking was too hot and not your thing, there is no excuse not to explore Anza-Borrego Desert State Park® now that winter is upon us. There is something for everyone in the Park’s soaring mountains, its canyons now trickling with seasonal streams, its badlands rich in wonder and mystery. There’s not a hike you can take that you won’t encounter something you’ve never seen before… be it a sighting of a rare desert creature or flower, an unusual geological formation, traces of Native settlement, or remnants of early exploration and settlement.

Our Foundation exists to make sure that generations to come can have those same, wonderful experiences.
To that end, I’m pleased to report that our Anza Trail Initiative is off to a rousing start. You may recall that we have targeted for acquisition 22,000 acres in sight of the trail taken through the Park by California’s first settlers, led by stalwart Captain Juan Bautista de Anza.

The plan is to acquire as much as possible of this land and deed it to the Park, thereby dramatically reducing private inholdings. Already, we have ten parcels in the process of acquisition, with more on the horizon.

With your help and support, the Anza-Borrego Foundation and Institute will continue to protect the Park, underwrite needed research, and offer a choice of innovative educational programs.
Sincerely,
Ray Mouton,
President