ORMHOF board member Jeff Furrier, left, presented the Hall of Fame 2019 Volunteer Award to Friends of Jawbone representative Randy Baines.

Unfortunately the group’s mascot, Mr Bob, could not attend. Mr Bob is a 121 year old desert tortoise, who has lived at Jawbone Station, the organization’s Visitor Center in the Mojave Desert, for the past 24 years. Randy was on hand to represent Mr Bob and the hundreds of human volunteers who have donated their time and resources to the Friends of Jawbone.

The Friends of Jawbone has three goals: 1) To provide a forum for the users of public lands in and around Jawbone Canyon to promote the preservation, multiple use, and restoration of all public lands, 2) To support and develop projects which improve, protect, and maintain existing trails in the area, 3) To promote understanding, education, and cooperation between the various users of public lands.

The Friends of Jawbone was organized as a steering committee in 1996. The group successfully opened a visitors center that same year, and Ed Waldheim, now a Hall of Fame inductee, was elected as president.

In 1997 it was decided that a map of the riding areas surrounding Jawbone Station should be created. Through grants, donations, and OHV Green Sticker funds, Friends of Jawbone and the California Trail Users Coalition now offers an extensive series of printed and digital maps of trails in Mohave and beyond.

Friends of Jawbone not only maps the trails, but they have their own maintenance yard, and maintain hundreds of miles of trails using their own equipment.