Desert Cahuilla

Southern California

What We Did
Helped protect land near the Salton Sea, a place of great cultural significance to the Cahuilla people.

Our Goal
Ensure equity in land conservation by working with tribes and Indigenous groups to protect and recover homelands and culturally significant places.

Support Our Work in California

Desert Cahuilla by the Numbers

4,360

acres protected

$50,000

raised

Preserving Tribal History in California

In the mid-2000s, Trust for Public Land, California State Parks, the Native American Land Conservancy, and other partners worked together to acquire 4,360 acres of land in Southern California’s Desert Cahuilla.

Located west of the Salton Sea and bordering both Anza-Borrego Desert State Park and Ocotillo Wells State Vehicle Recreational Area, the property is among the ancestral lands of the Cahuilla people and has significant scenic, ecological, archeological, historical, geological, and paleontological value.

In the first phase, TPL acquired the 360 acres from the Archeological Conservancy and conveyed it to the State of California for addition to the Anza-Borrego Desert State Park. In the second phase, an additional 4,000 acres known as the Desert Cahuilla–Truckhaven Property were acquired and protected.

The land contains hundreds of documented prehistoric cultural artifacts, including ceremony circles, shaman fire pits, and prehistoric trails along the ancient Lake Cahuilla shoreline. It is managed by California State Parks for cultural and natural resource protection and recreation. A $50,000 grant funded by Trust for Public Land ensured a tribal role in the stewardship of cultural resources.

“The organization has shown they really care about people and land, which coincides with Indigenous views,” says Michael Madrigal, a member of the Cahuilla Band of Indians and president of the Native American Land Conservancy. “Really focusing on what keeps land and people healthy, TPL knows they are the same things, and that the two work together.”

About This Project

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Get in Touch With Our California Team

Los Angeles Office

135 West Green Street
2nd Floor
Pasadena, CA, 91105
(323) 223-0441
california@tpl.org

Sacramento Office

1107 9th Street
Suite 1050
Sacramento, CA, 95814
(916) 557-1673
california@tpl.org

San Francisco Office

23 Geary Street
Suite 1000
San Francisco, CA, 94108
(415) 495-4014
california@tpl.org

Guillermo Rodriguez

Vice President Pacific Region, California State Director

california@tpl.org