Building Alliances to Protect the Park We All Love No. 85 Spring/ Summer 2016
As Three Dog Night — or, more recently,
Aimee Mann — famously crooned, “One is the loneliest number.” It sure can be. That’s why here at ABF, we create and sustain partnerships. We don’t want to find ourselves alone in our mission like a single tumbleweed bouncing down Palm Canyon Drive. Instead, we reach out and form alliances with individuals and organizations that help us fulfill our goals. Like any good relationship, our partnerships are chosen carefully and ultimately make us better. Of course the Park is our #1 partner from whom we would never stray! Without AnzaBorrego Desert State Park, what would be the point of Anza-Borrego Foundation? To put it dramatically and in French terms, we would have no raison d'être. In addition to the Park, our partnerships with the Steele/Burnand Anza-Borrego Desert Research Center, volunteers, donors and sponsors help us do and be more as an organization. In turn, those alliances aid the Park. So let’s take a closer look now at each of these partners and how they increase ABF’s reach and impact: Anza-Borrego Desert State Park Without question, ABF exists to serve the needs of Anza-Borrego Desert State Park (ABDSP) as the Park’s official nonprofit partner. Everything we do is in concert with ABDSP: for, with and because of. For example, Anza-Borrego Foundation acquires land for conservation in and around the Park, educates the public about the Park’s
resources, and supports research relevant to the region. We raise funds for ABDSP through memberships, donations, and the sales of clothing and other items at the State Park Store and the Visitor Center. Revenues raised help fund interpretive programs, youth education programs, equipment used by rangers and park staff, the free park magazine that is distributed to over 50,000 visitors a year, and more. In fact, last year 77 cents of every dollar we raised went to support the Park! When Anza-Borrego was formed in the early 1930s, it was checker-boarded by thousands of acres of private land inholdings — one estimate is as high as 68,000 acres, about 11% of the current Park! A primary aspect of ABF’s mission is to conserve land by purchasing these private inholdings (and other properties adjacent to the Park’s boundaries) from willing sellers. Once the sale is complete and all the proper paperwork has been filed, then the land officially becomes part of Anza-Borrego Desert State Park. To date, ABF has acquired more than 54,000 acres for ABDSP. Looking to the future, we will continue striving to acquire more of the remaining inholdings to make our Park whole and conserve wilderness areas in perpetuity. We will also continue to educate youth and adults — and offer research opportunities that increase the public’s understanding and enjoyment of this precious desert, which brings us to our next partner. continued on page 5