A Love Note to the California Desert’s Conglomerate Mesa

This past month, many of you have shared your Love Notes for the California Desert. We’ve enjoyed seeing your photos and reading how these public lands inspire you.

I’m glad to share my Love Note for a very special place - Conglomerate Mesa. Tucked away between Death Valley National Park to the east and the Sierra Nevada mountain range to the west, Conglomerate Mesa offers vast views from Mt. Whitney to Telescope Peak.

Last year, we partnered with Patagonia to invite professional ultrarunner, Clare Gallagher, to share our experience of solitude and rugged adventure found only in a place like Conglomerate Mesa. The photo of Clare and Alex Ertaud (Friends of the Inyo’s Stewardship Director) running on the Mesa (images by Ken Etzel) is our Love Note to the California Desert.

Yet, despite the many values of this land, Conglomerate Mesa is under threat from a large scale open pit cyanide gold mine. Friends of the Inyo is working with Conservation Lands Foundation and a coalition of organizations to save Conglomerate Mesa from mining.

I encourage you to share your own Love Note for the California Desert. Even though we can’t visit many of these important places right now, we can still appreciate and advocate for our favorite public lands and parks from afar. Share your Love Note on social media, tag @ConservationLands, and include #ILoveCADesert in your post.

Congratulations to Love Notes Contest Winners!

During the month of July, Conservation Lands Foundation randomly selected Love Notes contributors to win Desert-themed prizes. Congratulations to the contest winners!

Winner 1: @misaruiz

“This past year I’ve had the privilege of going out to the desert to drop water and survival supplies for the migrants that make the dangerous journey. I experience the conflicting feelings of awe and sadness. I hold the privilege to look at the desert and see beauty while others see it as deadly.”

Winner 2: @ramona.j.miller

“Rocks are awesome at the Joshua Tree National Park in the CA Mojave desert.”

Winner 3: @markhastings1

“#ilovecalifornia #ilovecadesert #hiking #exploring #exploremore #pioneertown #infraredphotography”

Winner 4: @scott_m_collins

“Red Canyon petroglyphs”