News

Friends of Big Morongo Canyon Preserve is fortunate to have a truly working board of directors. Our members not only dedicate their time to thoughtful strategic planning, but also contribute directly within the preserve through their individual passion projects. Their hands-on commitment plays a vital role in sustaining and strengthening this small, but mighty nonprofit organization.

We are delighted to welcome two new board members, Kimberly Keilbach and Kathy Snyder. Kimberly, a Morongo Valley resident, has been actively involved in efforts opposing the proposed 200-foot communication tower along Highway 62 near the Big Morongo Canyon Area of Critical Environmental Concern (ACEC). Kathy leads our “Birding With Friends” program and she is a supervisory ranger with the National Park Service, bringing valuable experience and enthusiasm to our community.

We are celebrating “Earth Month” with two great fundraising events. Bring your friends to these fun and entertaining events with our partners: Spaghetti Western Saloon and Dance Mojave. Relationships are important to our successful fundraising strategies which allows us to manage this wonderful community-based preserve for the wildlife, the plants, and for the visitors.

Two weeks ago, we announced that the Marsh Trail and Mesquite Trail boardwalks are now open after repairs to the storm damaged areas. As the Marsh Trail is our accessible trail for wheelchairs, walkers, and family strollers, we quickly reached out to multiple organizations to encourage them to utilize this remarkable trail. These organization include Desert ARC and Variety Childrens Charity of the Desert who enhance the quality of life and create opportunities for both adults and children with disabilities. Desert ARC quickly accepted our invitation which includes our nature guides. Variety of the Desert is interested in both guided nature tours and a team building “get-away” for their staff. We are also exploring a partnership with the Sierra Club’s San Gorgonio Chapter to bring club members to the preserve who utilize wheelchairs. Thank you to Lindsay Rowe of the Audubon Society for the referrals to Desert Arc and Variety of the Desert and to Moises Cisneros of the Sierra Club for the conversation that we recently had about the chapter’s participation.

Great news! Yesterday, Beahta Davis, Director, San Bernardino County Regional Parks, announced that the boardwalk trails at Big Morongo Canyon Preserve have been repaired and they are now open. These trails suffered tremendous damage from Hurricane Hilary and San Bernardino County Regional Parks spearheaded the repairs with new bridges over the many waterways of the preserve. On behalf of our Board of Directors, staff, visitors, and all our supporters, we thank Beahta Davis, her staff, and San Bernardino County for the repairs. After the 2026 bird nesting season has completed, the county will continue infrastructure improvements in the preserve by paving the parking lot and the entry driveway.

Our community of supporters, donors, and volunteers is the heart of Big Morongo Canyon Preserve and what makes it such a special place to visit and explore. We’re fortunate to know many of our visitors by name, and each year we eagerly anticipate the return of our “snowbirds” who seek refuge here from colder winters across the U.S. and Canada. Welcoming familiar faces back to the trails each season is one of the true joys of our work.

Visitors often share their experiences and images with us—like the photo above and the bobcat story that follows. If you’d like to share your own delightful adventures, simply reply to this email. Your story may appear in a future newsletter.

Our partnerships are very important to the successful management of Big Morongo Canyon Preserve. Here are examples of our relationships with federal and county partners who are working at the preserve right now.

Jeremy Camara, manager of the Sand to Snow National Monument, has provided a team from the Urban Conservation Corps to clear encroaching vegetation from the area of the Nature Center which will provide defensible space in case of a wildfire. We have been awarded a three-year grant from Conservation Lands Foundation to address wildfire resiliency. Historically, there have been three wildfires that impacted the preserve, so it is not a matter of “if”, but rather “when” and we want to be prepared! Thank you to Jeremy Camara, the Bureau of Land Management, and CalFire for their support of this on-going project.

Contractors provided by San Bernardino County Regional Parks are rehabilitating the boardwalks that were severely damaged by Hurricane Hilary. Multiple sets of boardwalk bridges are being built over the currently flowing water. Thank you to San Bernardino County for their investment into this wonderful preserve. At a future date, the county will repave the parking lot and the entry driveway.

Our 2025 Year-End Giving Campaign was a huge success! Each year, for the last three years, the donations from our supporters has increased exponentially. Your generous support of Friends of Big Morongo Canyon Preserve proves that

You trust us to be efficient with your financial gifts,

You know that we are managing the preserve for the wildlife and for the visitors,

You join us in the commitment to stewarding the preserve and that we can make a difference together.

A supporter sent us this note with their donation,

Thank you for all of the beautiful memories we’ve made in your preserve!

Making “beautiful memories” is a wonderful description of this stunning preserve.

These memories include the wildlife that are observed, the boardwalks and trails that are traversed, and the wonderful family outings to enjoy this oasis in the desert. As a community-based preserve, we get to personally know many of the hikers, birders, and visitors and during the holiday weeks of December we relished interacting with multi-generational families enjoying the beauty of nature and marveling at the deer that are often seen in the meadows. This is truly a magical place to be treasured!

On behalf of our more than 75 volunteers, our Board of Directors, and our staff, thank you for your continued support of Friends of Big Morongo Canyon Preserve. In 2026, we will celebrate the 30th anniversary of Friends of Big Morongo Canyon Preserve as a nonprofit organization dedicated to the stewardship of this extraordinary desert oasis through education, conservation, and responsible visitation. For three decades, we have undertaken bold initiatives that protect the preserve’s ecology, support its wildlife, and enrich the experience of every visitor, while operating with a remarkably small staff. Today, more than 75 passionate volunteers power our work on the ground. Our volunteer teams include:

Kiosk Ambassadors who personally greet over 12,000 visitors each year 

Trails and Maintenance volunteers  who keep the trails safe and accessible  

Wednesday Bird Walk leaders, who welcome over 1,700 participants annually

Native Plant Garden volunteers who recently planted 70 specimens in our revitalized garden

Education volunteers who provide field classes for 500 elementary school students each year along with Summer Science Fun and Ranger Kaeliegh’s Science Sunday 

These programs exist – and thrive – because of supporters like you.

We now have two new print productions including the highly anticipated updated bird check list. Big Morongo Canyon Preserve is an e-Bird Hotspot with 285 species recorded in the preserve and the adjacent Covington Park, whose number has increased from 241 species. The bird lists now are available at the visitor kiosk and at our Nature Center.

The other print product is our Winter newsletter, which is also found at the visitor kiosk and at our Nature Center. We have already received many kudos for the quality of the articles and the expanded number of pages. Of course, the newsletter is available as a digital product. Let us know what you think of this newsletter and the bird list!

With only 2 staff members, we depend on the exemplary skills, passion, and dedication of our volunteers who create these products for our visitors and supporters.

As we continue our Year-End Giving Campaign, we’re reminded every day of just how deeply people feel connected to Big Morongo Canyon Preserve.

The word “love” is very prevalent in the many compliments which are left at the sign in clipboard at the kiosk and sent to us by email. It is very easy to fall in love with the preserve.