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Friends of Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks (FOMDP) has announced the launch of a new initiative to upgrade the visitor experience at Dripping Springs, where visitor days have gone up from 23,143 in 2014 to 115,360 last year.
According to Patrick Nolan, executive director of FOMDP, the docent program centered at Dripping Springs “will provide visitors with knowledge of the history, wildlife, plant life and geology of a truly one-of-a-kind area. Docents will be available to lead hikes for students and families, as well as answer questions for visitors before and after they hit the trails. Most importantly, the docents will teach visitors how we can best protect our cherished landscapes and public lands.”
District 2 Congresswoman Xochitl Torres-Small saidshe’s in support of the new program.
“I applaud the partnership between FOMDP and the Bureau of Land Management to establish a docent program at Dripping Springs.” Torres-Small said. “Our docents will help preserve the area’s strong heritage and pass down generations of knowledge, in addition to sharing our public lands with New Mexicans and those visiting from across the country,”
Nolan said that through the end of the year, FOMDP will begin the process of recruiting docent instructors and volunteers to serve as the first class of docents.
“The first class will be working by summer 2021,” he said. “Instructors will receive a stipend for their time.”
For more information about the program, email Nolan at director@organmtnfriends.org or visit www.organmountainsdesertpeaks.org.
