I received an email response from the Palm Springs BLM today (Dec 6, 2011) regarding where we can legally shoot in that area.  Here's their email response:

Thank you for contacting us with your question; we appreciate your desire to locate legal and appropriate places for recreational shooting.

While the Palm Springs Field Office has no officially designated recreational shooting ranges within our jurisdiction, there are two areas near the Palm Springs / Palm Desert area (directions below) that traditionally have been used for target shooting.

Shooting is generally permitted on BLM managed lands, as long as such activity is also permitted in that location by State and local laws, and as long as the safety regulations noted below are observed.  All federal, state, and county regulations that apply to shooting apply to public lands.

Please keep in mind the following guidelines:

• Just because an area is BLM land, that doesn’t mean it is safe or appropriate to shoot there.  Shooting is prohibited within one mile of all campgrounds and developed recreation sites; within 150 yards of any man-made structure, or within 100 yards of any roadway.  Since it is prohibited to drive that far off of existing roads, you must be prepared to safely hike to your shooting location.  The requirements to be at least this far away from locations where your bullets could be hazardous to others makes many BLM areas unsuitable for shooting.
• When shooting, always select a safe location with a backstop.  An area with a hillside directly behind the target is ideal.  Avoid popular recreation areas and sensitive wildlife habitats.  Do not attach your targets to living plants or place targets up against rocks, plants, or solid objects.
• Always pick up and remove targets, empty shells, plastic shotgun wads and any other debris after you have finished.  You can be cited for littering if you leave any debris; for this reason, in the desert region, you are advised not to use clay pigeons as targets.  Even the so-called “biodegradable” clay of the targets is considered litter as it remains indefinitely in the dry, fragile landscape of the desert.
• Use of paintball equipment and projectiles is not permitted on BLM-managed lands.  The paint is considered similar to the clay used for skeet targets, and you can be cited for defacing public property with it.
• Use of plastic pellets is not permitted on BLM-managed lands.
• Shooting should only take place in areas well away from other concentrations of people and property.  Do not shoot in the direction of any road, hiking trail or parking area.
• Vehicles are restricted to designated routes of travel as posted and as shown on BLM maps.  Vehicles are prohibited in all wilderness areas.

It is illegal to:

• Shoot from or on a public road or highway or from a motor vehicle.
• Shoot within 150 yards of a home, barn, outbuilding, motor home, camper, or any inhabited area or roadway.
• Use glass bottles, appliances, and other refuse as targets.

Here are directions to the two BLM areas near Palm Springs / Palm Desert which are open to target shooting with handguns, rifles, and shotguns (no clay targets allowed):

Directions to Berdoo Canyon from the I-10:

1)  Take I-10 East past Palm Springs and into Indio.  Exit Dillon Road (about a mile past the 86S split) and go 0.3 miles down the off-ramp

2)  Turn left onto Dillon Rd - go 6.3 miles

3)  Turn right at Berdoo Canyon Rd - go 0.7 miles

Here's a map of Berdoo Canyon to cut n' paste into Google Maps:

http://maps.google.com/maps?q=Berdoo+Canyon,+CA&hl=en&ll=33.761025,-116.125317&spn=0.119736,0.154324&sll=33.684925,-116.146088&sspn=0.239684,0.308647&vpsrc=6&hnear=Berdoo+Canyon&t=h&z=13

Directions to Fargo Canyon from the I-10:

1)  Take I-10 East past Palm Springs and into Indio.  Exit Dillon Road (about a mile past the 86S split) and go 0.3 miles down the off-ramp

2)  Turn left at Dillon Rd - go 3.3 miles

3)  Turn right at 40th Ave - go 4.3 miles

PLEASE NOTE: The directions to Fargo Canyon (above) indicate a right turn at 40th Ave but in Google Maps I cannot find this street.  It appears the right turn might be on Fargo Canyon Road instead.  BE AWARE OF THIS.

Here's a map of Fargo Canyon to cut n' paste into Google Maps:

http://maps.google.com/maps?q=Fargo+Canyon,+CA&hl=en&ll=33.758313,-116.094418&spn=0.11974,0.154324&sll=33.761025,-116.125317&sspn=0.119736,0.154324&vpsrc=0&hnear=Fargo+Canyon&t=h&z=13

While you can roughly determine the Berdoo and Fargo locations in the Google Maps links above, their exact location, and the exact location of other shooting sites, cannot yet be found in electronic form online.  However, BLM sells maps known as "Surface Management Status" maps (aka "Desert Access Guides") which will indicate areas color-coded as BLM land, so you can use these maps to make sure you are not on privately owned lands.

These maps are at a scale of about one inch to the mile and can be seen here:

http://www.blm.gov/ca/st/en/info/iac/Northern_Map.html

Note that the Berdoo and Fargo Canyon shooting locations will be in the “Palm Springs” map which you can order from the State Office Public Room in Sacramento (916) 978-4401.  

They are also for sale in each of the field offices.  Here's the one for Palm Springs:

Bureau of Land Management
Palm Springs - South Coast Field Office1201 Bird Center Drive
Palm Springs, California 92262

Phone: (760) 833-7100

Office Hours: 8:00 a.m. - 4:30 p.m., M-F

That's the end of the mail I got from BLM.

Alex