Educational Bulletin 07-4 The Anza-Borrego Foundation and Institute: Its DPC Roots Run Deep By Diana Lindsay

8/8/2019 Educational Bulletin 07-4 The Anza-Borrego Foundation and Institute: Its DPC Roots Run Deep By Diana Lindsay

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development and exploitation. From this gathering

grew the Desert Protective Council, which was

incorporated on July 13, 1955. The specific and

primary purpose for its formation was “to

safeguard for wise and reverent use by this and

succeeding generations those desert areas that are

of unique scenic, scientific, historical, spiritual and

recreational value.” The first president was Harry

James; Henderson was president in 1957; and Dr.

Horace Parker became president in 1959.

When DPC was formed, Anza-Borrego

Desert State Park (ABDSP) was 22 years old. Its

creation had been a long, drawn out development

that had resulted in a management nightmare for

California State Parks. By the time that the park had its basic boundaries as we recognize them

today, it also had over 68,000 acres of private

inholdings owned by 1,700 individual landowners. State Parks Commissioner Horace

Parker, a past-president of DPC and a desert guidebook author, reported on this problem

of inholdings at a meeting of the California State Parks Commission in Palm Springs on

February 17, 1967.

At the urging of Commissioner Margaret Owings, the commission passed a

resolution calling for park staff to look into how donations of land could be made to the

state by land owners. They suggested forming an organization modeled after the Save-the-

Redwoods League that would assist the state in eliminating inholdings by accepting

donations of land that could then be transferred to the park.

Southern California District Superintendent James Whitehead was directed by Earl

Hansen, the Chief of Operations for the Department of Parks and Recreation, to be the

catalyst to form such a group. Whitehead called Park Superintendent Wesley Cater and

told him to bring a group together. Cater, a member of the Desert Protective Council,

called on fellow DPC members Commissioner Horace Parker and Bob Bear for assistance.

Together they organized the first meeting, held at Cater’s residence in Borrego Palm

Canyon on April 1, 1967. At the meeting representing DPC were Parker and Mrs. Henry

T. (Josephine) Read. Roscoe and Wilma Poland, Harriet Allen, and Verna Rasmussenrepresented the Sierra Club. Dr. Richard Phillips, a professor from USD, represented the

San Diego Natural History Museum (SDNHM), and Greg Farnsworth represented the

Borrego Springs Chamber of Commerce. Park representatives included Supervisor Wes

Cater, his wife Celeste, District Supervisor Jim Whitehead, and his wife Peggy.

Enough cannot be said about the caliber of experience of those first board members,

their determination to get the job done, and their long-term commitment to Anza-Borrego.

Jo Read, sporting an ABC cap Photo courtesy ABFI




Six meetings were held that first year, setting the stage for future success. Dr. Phillips

chaired the initial meetings and suggested the name Anza-Borrego Council (ABC) for the

group, which was accepted. The name changed to the Anza-Borrego Committee when DPC

was designated as the depository for funds collected, making ABC officially a committee of

the DPC. Under this arrangement, all ABC members were required to be members of

DPC. DPC also elected Jo Read as the permanent chair, and she served in that capacity for

the next 15 years. As the state president for California Garden Clubs, she was instrumental

in getting the clubs to raise funds for land acquisitions. They continue to support ABFI to

this day.

A review of the first annual report shows the accomplishments of that first year. The

state agreed to do title searches for ABC and to accept lands that were donated to them.

ABC transferred the first 5-acre parcel to the state—a gift from Jim and Peggy Whitehead,

and it had raised $1,975. Jo Read also began soliciting the California Garden Clubs for

support. Dick Phillips designed a logo and a brochure for ABC, and the brochures were

printed in time for distribution at the Borrego Desert Festival on October 22, 1967.

In the next several years the success of ABC grew. In 1968 the organization began its

annual Desert Walk. A Desert Gardens program was initiated in 1969 to attract

contributors who each paid $55 to have their names listed. This became a popular program

for those wanting to honor someone or to make a purchase in someone’s memory. In 1971

a demonstration Desert Garden was dedicated in Coyote Canyon. In 1972 ABC was

commended for its work by the State Parks and Recreation Commission and in 1979 the

California Resources Agency presented the organization the Golden Bear Award for its

dedication and service to ABDSP.

In its 10th year of operation, ABC was organized into the non-profit Anza-Borrego

Foundation to enable it to receive title directly from landowners—a problem that existed




when it was a committee of DPC. New ABC brochures stated that the organization was

now a charitable foundation and donations for acquisition should be made to ABF, now a

charitable trust under DPC. Also in its 10th year, ABF could proudly boast that it had

transferred almost 4,000 acres to the park since its inception. All seemed to be going well,

but what was not apparent to those outside the board was the growing tension that came to

a head in 1983.

That year Jo Read stepped down as chairman and Harriet Allen, past-president of the

DPC and former member of the California State Coastal Commission, became the new

chair. Board members included Jo Read, Harriet Allen, Dick Phillips, Wilma and Roscoe

Poland, Jim and Peggy Whitehead, Harry and Julia Daniel, Roma Rentz, and Dr. Edwin

Woodhouse.

The growing tension had to do with the lobbying activity of DPC, which some board

members felt was detrimental to soliciting funds for acquisition. Harry Daniel expressed

his concerns about the future of ABF as long as it was tied to DPC. In a letter to the

committee, he expressed his frustration over the conflicting goals of the two organizations:“It is ridiculous for us to seek funds from organizations and individuals whose plans are

being actively and strenuously opposed and obstructed by our parent, the DPC.” He called

for separation. Jim Whitehead suggested reorganization as a better route than separation,

and Glenn Vargas of the DPC said that “DPC is willing to do almost anything to prevent

separation,” and that DPC regarded ABF as “a shining example of what DPC can achieve.”

He further said that DPC would not object to the deletion of all mention of DPC from the

letterhead and in all publicity for ABF.

The board voted and decided not to separate at that time. Both Harry and Julia

Daniel resigned from the board. The underlying tension diminished for the time being but

resurfaced again in 1988.

This time board members voted for separation because of the difficulty in acquiring

donations of land while DPC and officers of ABF were taking political stands opposing

desert development

from potential donors.

The board felt that the

organization needed to

focus only on land

acquisition while

remaining neutral on allother issues. In October

1988, ABF, a charitable

trust of DPC, was reor-

ganized as an independ-

ent 501(c) (3) non-profit

corporation with the

Desert Gardens in Coyote Canyon Photo courtesy ABFI




same name, and it was

recorded by the state on

November 21. The charter

and bylaws were modern-

ized to give the foundation

more flexibility as a chari-

table organization, and

required membership in

DPC was deleted.

For the next several

years, ABF focused on its

mission to acquire lands. By

1996, in its 30th year, it had

managed to acquire almost

25,000 acres of inholdings within the Park. By then it

had become a membership organization. It had also hired an executive director and, in a

campaign to increase public awareness, ABF published its first newsletter, the Desert

Update.

The most dramatic changes have occurred within the last 10 years—changes that have

brought ABF back in line with DPC. Also during this period, land acquisitions

dramatically increased to 43,000 acres, of which over 10,000 acres are ranch lands adjacent

to the Park—a radical departure from strictly obtaining inholdings within the ultimate

boundaries of the park. Where in 1967 there were 68,000 acres of inholdings within Anza-

Borrego, today that number has decreased to 33,000 acres.

Beginning in 1997, ABF’s relationship with the park began to take a different form.

Previously focused almost exclusively on land acquisition, ABF began to assist the park in

other ways, including grant writing, fundraising for special park projects, lobbying on

behalf of the park in Sacramento, and expanding its interpretive and educational

programs. This increased activity led to the creation of the Anza-Borrego Institute (ABI) in

2003. ABI is an educational and research institute for the Colorado Desert that is a

partnership with California State Parks, UC Davis Wildlife Health Center, and ABF. ABI

is now an integral part of the Foundation, a fact reflected in the organization’s name—the

Anza-Borrego Foundation and Institute. ABFI’s mission statement has been updated toinclude conservation in Anza-Borrego and in the surrounding ecological region through

land acquisition, education, interpretation, and scientific studies. The Foundation still

focuses on land acquisition for Anza-Borrego, but the Institute activities include the entire

Colorado Desert District. Units within the district are: ABDSP, Cuyamaca Rancho SP,

Palomar Mountain SP, Indio Hills Palms, Picacho State Recreation Area (SRA), and Salton

Sea SRA.

Oriflamme Canyon, a key acquisition for ABFI. Photo by Paul Johnson/courtesy ABFI




With its expanded conservation mission, ABFI now works closely with the Desert

Protective Council on conservation issues. Today you will find ABFI and DPC working

together to fight the Sunrise Powerlink and to protect natural and cultural resources within

the Desert Cahuilla area. And while ABFI has gone through many changes, the Desert

Protective Council has evolved as well. With the resources available to it in its Mesquite

Fund (the result of DPC’s 2003 settlement of a lawsuit against the Mesquite Mine landfill

conversion), DPC has added grant-making to its traditional conservation and education

activities, and has made several large grants to ABFI. Thus, where the Anza-Borrego

Foundation once shied away from DPC’s activities as an outspoken desert advocate, ABFI

now benefits from them.

For instance, in the area of conservation, DPC is partnering with ABFI to fund aerial

photography, air quality monitoring and other surveys of the Desert Cahuilla Prehistoric

Area. In education, DPC was one of the initial funders of ABFI’s fifth grade environmental

tent camp, and continues to support and fund the expansion of the tent camp opportunity

to more Imperial County school children. DPC also funds ABFI’s distance learningprogram, Parks Online Resources for Teachers and Students (PORTS), which has allowed

PORTS to expand its outreach in Imperial County classrooms. DPC’s 2007 grant aided in

the purchase of a satellite-equipped, four-wheel-drive mobile studio, affectionately

nicknamed the “PORTSmobile.” This vehicle allows rangers to take their distance learning

program out of the indoor studio and into the wilds of Anza-Borrego.

So now we get back to our little acorn, which never fell far from the tree. Now fully

grown, it stands by its parent organization doing exactly what DPC has always done—

speaking out for preservation and

encouraging appreciation of our

desert lands.

Diana Lindsay is a noted

southern California historian,

guidebook author, publisher, and the

founder of Sunbelt Publications. She

has served in many capacities with the

Anza-Borrego Foundation and Institute,

including her current role as VicePresident for Environmental Affairs.

Anza-Borrego’s “PORTSmobile.” Photo by PORTS Interpreter LuAnn Thompson

Documents

Educational Bulletin 07-4 The Anza-Borrego Foundation and Institute: Its DPC Roots Run Deep By Diana Lindsay