Protected Land Near Palm Desert Celebrates 10 Years
Happy birthday to the National Monument!
The 280,000 acres of protected land, stretching from the Salton Sea to the Banning Pass, turns 10. The monument would not have been made possible without donors and supporters from the non-profit group Friends of the Desert Mountains.
“We just can’t keep building homes all the time,” said donor Patrick McCarthy. “We got to have places for birds and animals to survive. You can’t use up all the land.”
A celebration was held at the monument’s Visitor Center on Highway 74. Rep. Mary Bono Mack told the audience that the day President Bill Clinton signed the Monument into legislation, it also happened to be her birthday.
“So, Sunday will be the ten year anniversary of my 39th birthday. So, happy birthday to us all,” she joked.
The Friends of the Desert Mountains say they want to expand the Visitors Center in the next ten years to accommodate more people and exhibits. They are looking also into building an outdoor amphitheatre to hold special events and lectures.
Various groups, such as the USDA Forest Service, the Bureau of Land Management and the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians collaborated to protect the Monument.
Special events will be held throughout the season to commemorate the monument’s tenth year.
