Friends of the Desert Mountains release 2025 impact report
PALM DESERT, Calif. (KESQ) – A 2025 impact report released Tuesday revealed Friends of the Desert Mountains, a nonprofit organization dedicated to land conservation, offered hundreds of free public hikes and talks, generated more than a $1 million in revenue and returned 1,073 acres of land to the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians among other factors.
“Our work is ultimately about connection,” Tammy Martin, executive director of the nonprofit, said in a statement. “When people spend time on the land, learn from it, care for it and see themselves as part of its future, conservation becomes something we do together.”
The report highlighted a few key accomplishments, including offering 502 free public hikes and talks, volunteers contributed 5,800 hours, and the organization, with assistance from Coachella Valley Mountains Conservancy, returned thousands of acres to the local tribe, which included two parcels consisting of 936 acres and 137 acres purchased by the tribe from Friends.
“Preservation of our homelands is essential to maintaining our cultural heritage,” Tribal Chairman Jeff Grubbe of the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians said in the report.
“Who better to care for these lands than the original stewards who have been doing so since time immemorial,” Martin said.
Friends_2025_AnnualReport-tmDownloadAdditionally, more than 500 students participated in Friends’ education programs and the organization generated $1,119,058 in revenue last year through fundraising efforts, programs and grants and admin fees.
“Every person who connects to the land becomes part of its future,” the report concludes.
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