Anza Borrego Desert State Park

WINTER IN ANZA-BORREGO DESERT STATE PARK

Anza Borrego Foundation

February 3, 2022 (Borrego Springs) -- When you think of the weather in February in the desert, you may think of frigid cold temperatures, wind strong enough to create sandstorms and raging flash floods. While all of this is possible, it is not common. According to NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric), Borrego Spring's average temperature in February is in the low 50's at night and low/mid 70's in the day; hardly frigid! Winds are generally mellow, averaging just over five mph, and rain, we can always use more rain, averages just around 0.5". 

Near perfect winter weather! 


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ANZA-BORREGO PHOTO CONTEST NOW OPEN

East County News Service

Nov. 2, 2021 (Borrego Springs) – You’re invited to submit your best photos of the unique and natural beauty of Anza-Borrego Desert State Park by December 7. There are six categories to enter your photos – and the Best of Show winner will receive a 2.5 hour private tour for two with California Overland Desert Excursions.

The contest is presented by the Anza Borrego Foundation in partnership with the Borrego Art Institute and Anza-Borrego Desert State Park.


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CESAR CHAVEZ HISTORY AT ANZA-BORREGO HONORED ON MARCH 31

East County News Service

March 27, 2021 (Borrego Springs) -- Did you know? Cesar Chavez has important history in Borrego Springs and in Anza-Borrego Desert State Park (ABDSP). To honor this history, bilingual interpretive panels were devised that depict these historic events, a joint project between Anza-Borrego Desert State Park and High School students at Borrego Springs High School. 


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BORREGO PALM CANYON: A WONDERFUL HIKE FOR THE ENTIRE FAMILY

Source: Anza-Borrego Foundation

January 30, 2021 (Anza-Borrego) -- With recent rains and even snow in the upper watershed, and thus more creek water flowing down Borrego Palm Canyon, this is the perfect time to head out on the iconic 3-mile roundtrip hike up the Canyon to the first grove. Although you can not enter the palm grove itself, the modified loop trail brings you to a stunning overlook where you can admire how Mother Nature has bounced back and how the native fan palms are recovering.


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CALLING ALL SHEEP COUNTERS: BORREGO BIGHORN VOLUNTEERS NEEDED

By Miriam Raftery

May 22, 2019 (Anza-Borrego)–Volunteers are needed for the 49th annual Bighorn Sheep Count in Anza-Borrego Desert State Park July 5-7, with an orientation session June 22nd.  If you want to enjoy the thrill of seeing these elusive and majestic animals while helping gather important data to help protect the species, please contact AB.Sheepcount@parks.ca.gov with questions and be sure to fill out the RSVP form on Page 2 of this flyer.


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SUNSET TO STARS: DINNER EXCURSIONS IN ANZA BORREGO DESERT AUG. 11 AND 16

 

By Miriam Raftery

Photo by Dennis Mammana

July 26, 2017 (Borrego Springs) – California Overland Adventures invites you to a 5-hour sunset-to-stars excursion to experience the Anza-Borrego Desert on August 11 or August 16  from 5:30 to 9:30 p.m. including an off-road adventure to rugged badlands, dinner and stargazing in Anza-Borrego Desert State Park, which USA Today has called a “stargazer’s paradise.”

Overnight camping options are also available on separate dates.


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DESERT WILDFLOWERS SET FOR BEAUTIFUL BLOOMS SOON

 

East County News Service

February 13, 2017 (Borrego Springs) – This year’s heavy rains may result in one of the most spectacular wildflower seasons in recent memory in the Anza Borrego Desert State Park. 


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ANZA-BORREGO DESERT STATE PARK WON’T LIMIT OFF-TRAIL ACCESS, STATE PARKS OFFICIALS SAY

 

By Miriam Raftery

June 22, 2016 (Anza-Borrego) – A proposal  to ban off-trail hiking and other activities at sensitive areas of state parks won’t apply in the Anza-Borrego Desert State Park.


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PRESCRIBED BURN SET IN ANZA BORREGO DESERT STATE PARK TODAY

 

 

August 21, 2015 (Anza-Borrego)--California State Parks is scheduled to conduct a limited prescribed burn on park lands today, conditions permitting.  This burn will occur in Anza-Borrego Desert State Park at Carrizo Marsh. The burn will impact travel on roadways in the burn area.


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CIRCLE OF ART SHOWCASES BEAUTY OF CA "SECRET DESERT" MARCH 14-15

 

January 9, 2015 (Borrego Springs) - Enjoy the original artwork of 60 selected fine artists and craftsmen while experiencing the unique beauty of "California's Secret Desert" at the 26th annual Circle of Art Show & Sale March 14 & 15, 2015 in Borrego Springs.  Circle of Art is outdoors on Christmas Circle right in the center of Borrego Springs, just 2 hours from San Diego and Palm Springs.


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BIGHORN BOOK AUTHOR, PHOTOGRAPHER TO HOST PROGRAMS NOV. 19 AND DEC. 16

 

November 15, 2014 (San Diego)--Desert Bighorn Sheep: Wilderness Icon is the most comprehensive photographic work ever published on this iconic symbol of the deserts of  southwestern United States and northern Mexico. Author Mark Jorgensen, former Superintendent of the Anza Borrego Desert State Park, and photographer Jeff Young will appear at two events:  November 19 at Adventure 16 San Diego and December 16 at the Natural History Museum in Balboa Park.


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EXPERTS VOICE ALARM OVER SURVIVAL OF LOCAL BIGHORN SHEEP

 

By Miriam Raftery

March 17, 2014 (San Diego’s East County) – Could big energy projects proposed in East County lead to the decimation of federally endangered Peninsular Bighorn Sheep? 

From 1972 to the present, the Carrizo Gorge band of these bighorns has plummeted from about 120 sheep to less than 40.  “Off-road vehicles, trespassing cattle, poaching in the 1960s and ‘70s, drought, disease and Mountain Lion predation have worked together to push this population o the edge. We hope we can save this group before it is too late,” Mark Jorgensen, advisor to the Bighorn Institute and former Superintendent of Anza-Borrego Desert State Park wrote in the Desert News.

In his comments submitted on  four solar projects proposed by Soitec in Boulevard, Jorgensen writes that “Construction of yet another group of solar projects will further impede the free movement of wildlife by reducing habitat connectivity and ruining wildlife corridors.”  He further notes that Soitec’s sites are very near lands purchased and set aside specifically to protect species  the endangered bighorn, golden eagles and other species in peril.


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HIKE TO PAINTED GORGE IN ANZA-BORREGO FEB. 1

January 30, 2014 (Carrizo Mountain)—The Jacumba Hikers will be hitting the trail this Saturday at 8 a.m. for an “extreme” hike to Painted Gorge/Carrizo Mountain.  Heat and movement over time has created fantastic shapes and colors as the sun illuminates and plays shadows upon this geologic wonder.


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'TIS THE SEASON TO VISIT ANZA BORREGO DESERT STATE PARK

By Miriam Raftery

January 9, 2014 (Anza Borrego) -- Late winter and early spring are the prime seasons to visit Anza-Borrego Desert State park, when the weather is mild enough for savoing outdoor hikes through rugged and  beautiful terrain.  There are also many activities coming up from hikes to cultural events -- and several organizations offering activities besides the Park itself.  

Winter is a good time to try and spot elusive and endangered Peninsular Bighorn Sheep and other wildlife.  Soon, spring blooms will cover the desert floor and mountain passes, adding brilliant splashes of color to the landscape.


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ENVIRONMENTAL GROUPS FILE LEGAL ACTION SEEKING TO BAN OFF-ROAD OPEN RIDING AT OCOTILLO WELLS

 

By Sholeh Sisson

June 5, 2013 (Ocotillo Wells) -- Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER) and the Desert Protective Council (DPC) filed a legal action May 21, 2013 to stop open riding in the Ocotillo Wells State Vehicular Recreation Area (SVRA). If successful this action would end ORV "open riding" beyond designated trails and require the state park to implement strategies to protect the park's habitats and archaeological resources.

The park, located in east San Diego county, allows off-road driving on all 85,000 acres except for a few fenced and protected areas.


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PHOTOS OF THE WEEK: ANZA BORREGO DESERT STATE PARK

 

January 9, 2013 (Anza Borrego) – Daren Sefcik photographed these spectacular images in the Anza Borrego Desert State Park.  This endangered Peninsular Bighorn Sheep ram was spotted in a canyon between Potrero and Squaw canyons near Agua Caliente campground. “We were out backpacking for four days through there, “Sefcik says.  He also captured this beautiful sunrise over Whale Peak, photographed from Fish Creek.

 

 

 

 


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SOLAR DONE RIGHT SUPPORTS LOCAL ALTERNATIVES TO REMOTE MASSIVE ENERGY PROJECTS

Coalition seeks to protect public lands, launches “Energy Democracy” sign-up
 
It is currently cheaper, on a per-watt basis, to install a small rooftop system in Germany than it is to install a giant desert installation in the US.
 
By Ariele Johannson
 
April 9, 2012 (San Diego’s East County)--Driving through the southwestern deserts, I’ve long been impressed by the ocotillo, a cactus-like tree with straight branches angling upwards to the sun, ablaze with red blooms. This thorny desert tree is an apt metaphor for the ways different people view energy issues-- especially proposed industrial solar and wind power projects in remote wilderness areas. Like the ocotillo, these programs and policies have a wide array of angles from which to be viewed.

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PHOTOS OF THE WEEK: THE DESERT IS ABLAZE IN COLOR

 

April 9, 2012 (Anz-Borrego Desert) -- Daren Sefcik snapped these beautiful blooms this week in the Anza Borrego Desert State Park, where the desert is ablaze in color.


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WIND STORM: WHISTLEBLOWER ALLEGES GAG ORDER PREVENTED STATE PARK EMPLOYEES FROM REVEALING HARM TO ANZA-BORREGO DESERT STATE PARK FROM PROPOSED OCOTILLO EXPRESS WIND PROJECT

Part II in ECM’s exclusive report on the Ocotillo Express Wind project, a joint investigation with ABC 10 News. (See the 10 News portion of this investigation, a report on environmental impacts of the project here:   10 News text: http://www.10news.com/news/30776233/detail.html; 10 News video: http://www.10news.com/video/30776306/index.html)

“To have the Governor’s office tell our park officials NOT to comment on Ocotillo,  OR ANY OTHER alternative energy projects adjacent to the Park, is a travesty, a violation of the trust between the citizens and the state.” – Mark Jorgensen, retired Superintendent, Anza Borrego Desert State Park in an e-mail to ECM

 “These allegations are not true.   No such directive came from the the Governor’s Office or the California Natural Resources Agency saying that State Parks could not comment on the Ocotillo Wind Express Project. “ -- Richard Stapler, Deputy Secretary for Communications, California Natural Resources Agency

By Miriam Raftery

March 27, 2012 (Anza-Borrego) – The former Superintendent of the Anza-Borrego Desert State Park (ABDSP) has contacted East County Magazine to allege a cover-up by the State Parks Department and the Governor of serious impacts that the proposed Ocotillo Express wind project would have on our largest state park and its natural resources.  The proposed wind project shares a five-mile border with ABSP and if approved, would erect up to 155 wind turbines each 456 feet tall—some just yards from the park.


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