Educational Bulletin #07-4

A publication of the Desert Protective Council www.dpcinc.org

The Anza-Borrego Foundation and Institute:

Its DPC Roots Run Deep
By Diana Lindsay

To paraphrase two old sayings, an acorn falls not far from the tree and from that little
acorn a mighty oak will grow. And so it has been in the case of the Anza-Borrego
Foundation and Institute (ABFI). A prominent cooperating association of California State
Parks, and an award-winning foundation and institute, ABFI had its humble beginning 40
years ago under the wing of the Desert Protective Council.
The intertwined histories of these organizations are an outgrowth of conservationists
working together to protect and preserve the desert from those who only see value in its use
and development. In fact, this tension
continues to this day with ABFI and DPC
working hand in hand to protect desert
parklands from massive transmission lines and
from indiscriminate use by off-roaders.
The Desert Protective Council was
formed 53 years ago in 1954 when Joshua Tree
National Monument (JTNM) was threatened
by mining activity. Some of the outspoken
conservationists of the day, including Desert
Magazine publisher Randall Henderson,
renowned biologist Edmund Jaeger, Dr. Ernest
Tinkham, Dr. Henry Weber, and Harry James,
organized a meeting at Deep Canyon on
October 23, 1954. Around a campfire, with
about 100 other conservationists, they
discussed how best to protect Joshua Tree and Dr. Horace Parker Photo courtesy ABDSP
other desert landscapes threatened by
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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
Jo Read, sporting an ABC cap Photo courtesy ABFI
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 Rasmussen
represented 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.
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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
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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 all
other 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
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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
Oriflamme Canyon, a key acquisition for ABFI. Photo by Paul Johnson/courtesy ABFI
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 to
include 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.
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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 learning
program, 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 Vice
President for Environmental Affairs.

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