News

New Book Describes the Evolution of the Anza-Borrego Desert Region

San Diego, CA— The Anza-Borrego Foundation (ABF) in Borrego Springs is sponsoring a free public book launch for A Natural History of the Anza-Borrego Region: Then and Now, just in time for holiday gift-giving on Saturday, December 14 at the Steele/Burnand Anza-Borrego Desert Research Center at 401 Tilting T Drive in Borrego Springs, starting at 4:00 p.m. Authors Mike Wells and Marie Simovich will  present the story of how the desert landscape and organisms that inhabit this desert area evolved to their present state and what the future may hold for these desert lands. Books will be available for purchase and refreshments will be served. All author royalties are assigned to ABF to help support Anza-Borrego Desert State Park. The book was published by Sunbelt Publications of San Diego in cooperation with California State Parks and ABF.

For those who might not be able to make the December 14 book launch, a second public lecture and book signing will be held at the Anza-Borrego State Park Visitor Center on December 20th at 3:00 pm. Call ABF at 760-767-0446 for more information about these two scheduled free public events in Borrego Springs. A third public event will be held in the San Diego area on Tuesday, December 17, at Burning Beard Brewing Company in El Cajon. Call Sunbelt Publications for more information about this San Diego event.

This comprehensive volume evolved from a course on the natural history of the Anza-Borrego region that was developed by the authors over a 16-year period and taught at the University of San Diego.  “Early in the life of that class we discovered that there wasn’t a single book that focused on the natural history of the western Colorado Desert and Anza-Borrego Desert State Park in particular,” note Wells and Simovich. The pair took the situation into their own hands, filling the gap with the new “go-to” guide for scientists and park visitors alike. Lavish illustrations work together with the text to strengthen the reader’s understanding of this major desert area that delights visitors with an incredible array of wildlife, wildflowers, and rugged landscapes. Anza-Borrego Desert State Park is California’s largest state park at 1,000 square miles—almost the size of the state of Rhode Island.

“This is the most comprehensive natural history book I have seen,” praises Cameron Barrows. “Reading this book cover to cover provides the reader with the what, where and how for understanding not only the Anza Borrego Desert region, but also the deserts of the world.” Barrows is an Associate Research Ecologist at the Center for Conservation Biology, University of California Riverside.

Future lectures and signings will be announced. Check with the publisher – Sunbelt Publications (www.sunbeltpublications.com) — for locations, dates, and times.