FODM: BLM Water Survey

In October 2019, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) sought the help of Friends of the Desert Mountain to finish a water survey in the Santa Rosa mountains. I volunteered to help a BLM intern conduct the survey in the Bear Creek area of La Quinta. We began early to avoid hiking over 7 miles in the midday sun.

The excitement started when the intern informed us that we would be hiking off-trail, using GPS coordinates to locate 5 sites where groundwater had been previously reported. This meant no trails, traversing scree surfaces, and scrambling over rocks—what an excellent volunteer opportunity. Here are some of the views from that day.

Every survey site took us deeper and higher into the canyon.

The second to last spot we surveyed involved some serious rock climbing up a dry waterfall. I managed to safely climb to the location marked with an 'X' while the intern, a experienced rock climber, continued higher to the area marked with a 'Z' where a water source had been reported.

A close up of the intern as she scaled the rock face to reach point 'Z'. Unfortunately, no water was found.

Our last survey location was not as challenging to reach.

However, we noticed indications of groundwater reaching the surface. If you examine closely, you'll see that the area behind the intern appears darker. The soil or sand in this region was moist to the touch. It was a fantastic experience participating in this BLM research project.