Environmental Stewardship

SAFE AND RELIABLE WATER SUPPLY - Borrego Springs was named for the clear, delicious water from the aquifer that was once thought to have an unlimited supply. Today we know that the rate of water usage was unsustainable. Steps are being implemented to stabilize and ultimately replenish the aquifer. The BVEF supports community education and capacity building around this most critical issue.

The only source of water for the community of Borrego Springs is its aquifer. Thirty-five years of continuous study of the aquifer has demonstrated we use over 20,000 acre-feet of water per year and that the aquifer is replenished at a rate of approximately 5,000 acre-feet per year. Thus, the current rate of water use in our community is unsustainable, and, if unchecked, will result in the demise of Borrego Springs. Therefore, the BVEF seeks to invest in activities and initiatives that:

1. Support Borrego Springs becoming compliant as soon as possible with the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act by the creation and implementation of a Groundwater Sustainability Plan (GSP).
2. Support community education and capacity building around this most critical issue.
3. Support efforts to access and acquire governmental and political support for the creation and implementation of the GSP.
4. Provide regular and rigorous assessments of the status of the community’s only source of water.

AIR QUALITY- Historically the Borrego Valley was known for its crystal clear days and clear night skies that revealed stars beyond counting. Over recent decades there has been a measurable decline in air quality in the region. The BVEF seeks to invest in activities and initiatives that determine sources of particulate air pollution in the region, enforce federal, state, and regional air quality standards, and support the development and deployment of mitigation efforts.  

The importance of the air we breathe is second only to the availability of potable, affordable water to the community of Borrego Springs. In addition to the obvious consequences of poor air quality—respiratory and other health conditions—air quality has a direct impact on the economic development of our community as a “nature destination” and as the Gateway Community to the Anza-Borrego Desert State Park, a World Heritage Designation contender. Recent developments in the community and region have led to a perceptible decline in air quality, making our community less competitive as a nature destination when visitors are confronted with poor air quality rivaling that of Mexico City, Beijing, and Delhi. Therefore the BVEF seeks to invest in activities and initiatives that:

1. Develop a data-driven understanding of the community’s past and current air quality, particularly as it relates of federal, state, and regional air quality standards.
2. Develop the capacity to determine sources of particulate air pollution in the region.
3. Support the enforcement of federal, state, and regional air quality standards.
4. Support the development and deployment of mitigation efforts.
5. Support the use and development of new technologies to monitor air quality, including the impacts of mitigation efforts.
6. Support the development of new partnerships with organizations and institutions that are working to understand and improve air quality in our community and region.

BIODIVERSITY - When people arrive to Borrego Springs, their first impression is that the land is barren. When they look a little closer, they see the southwest's largest ocotillo forest and a multitude of desert flora, mammals, reptiles, and birds that make this valley their home. Some lucky visitors even catch a super bloom. The biodiversity of the valley is abundant, but in recent years it has faced serious challenges from invasive weeds which can be devastating to the native environment. BVEF seeks to invest in activities and initiatives that promote and protect the diversity of the region's flora and fauna and provide education and research regarding the factors impacting biodiversity in our region.

National Science Foundation sponsored research concluded in 2012 that the global loss of species was equally, if not more, threatening to human survival than pollution.  On a community level, the importance of preservation of species is readily apparent in a community such as Borrego Springs where economic development is becoming more dependent upon nature in all its forms. Specifically, the unique character of Borrego Springs is dependent upon its flora and fauna—wild flowers in their vast multiplicity, Ocotillo Forests, Peninsular Big Horn Sheep, Swenson’s Hawks, mountain lions, etc; and the community’s economic development is dependent upon maintaining that unique character. Therefore, the BVEF seeks to invest in activities and initiatives that

1. Promote and protect the diversity of species, flora, and fauna, now existing in our region.
2. Promote education and capacity building in the community around the extensive biodiversity of our region.
3. Promote research regarding the factors impacting biodiversity in our region.
4. Provide regular and rigorous assessments of the status of Biodiversity of our region.