Coachella, CA — Tribal leaders, community leaders, and veterans are today applauding Senator Alex Padilla and Representative Raul Ruiz, M.D. for championing the proposed Chuckwalla National Monument in the California Desert. Senator Padilla and Representative Ruiz led members of the California congressional delegation on a joint letter to President Biden urging him to use the Antiquities Act to designate the proposed monument. Senator Padilla also introduced and Representative Ruiz re-introduced legislation in support of this same goal. 

“For thousands of years, the Torres Martinez Desert Cahuilla Indians have called the lands in the proposed Chuckwalla National Monument home,” said Chairman Thomas Tortez Jr. of the Torres Martinez Desert Cahuilla Indians. “The area contains thousands of cultural places and objects of vital importance to the history and identity of the Torres Martinez Desert Cahuilla Indians. We strongly support the designation of the Chuckwalla National Monument and thank Senator Alex Padilla and Representative Raul Ruiz for championing this effort.”

The proposed Chuckwalla National Monument includes approximately 627,000 acres of public lands. It is located south of Joshua Tree National Park and reaches from the Coachella Valley region in the west to near the Colorado River in the East. Today, Tribal leaders and local advocates joined Senator Padilla and Representative Ruiz in Washington D.C. to thank them for their leadership and present petitions of support from the community. 

“These lands encompass our origins, history, songs, religious ceremonies, ancient sites, trails, petroglyphs, artifacts, and intaglios that are spread throughout our traditional territories,” said Jordan D. Joaquin, President of the Fort Yuma Quechan Indian Tribe. “Our footsteps are etched into the landscape since the beginning of time and we continue to persist in modern times, still providing stewardship over these lands. We are wholeheartedly in support of the proposed Chuckwalla National Monument.”

These are the homelands of the Iviatim, Nüwü, Pipa Aha Macav, Kwatsáan, and Maara’yam peoples, also known as the Cahuilla, Chemehuevi, Mohave (CRIT Mohave), Quechan, and Serrano nations. This effort is also proposing to protect approximately 17,000 acres of public lands in the Eagle Mountains that are adjacent to Joshua Tree National Park. 

“The Cahuilla Band of Indians is in strong support of the creation of the Chuckwalla National Monument,” said Erica Schenk, Chairwoman of the Cahuilla Band of Indians. “The area includes village sites, camps, quarries, food processing sites, power places, trails, glyphs, and story and song locations, all of which are evidence of the Cahuilla peoples’ and other tribes’ close and spiritual relationship to these desert lands.”

The protection of these public lands would help ensure more equitable access to nature for eastern Coachella Valley communities and surrounding areas. Some popular trails and places of interest that would be protected as part of the monument include Painted Canyon and Box Canyon in the Mecca Hills area, Corn Springs campground, and the Bradshaw Trail. 

“The proposed Chuckwalla National Monument would help address the gap that Latinos face in accessing nature,” said Iris Gutierrez, President of the High Desert Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. “Studies have shown that people of color, low-income communities, and families with children are most likely to be deprived of the wellness benefits that nature provides. Our thanks to Senator Padilla and Representative Ruiz for championing the proposed Chuckwalla National Monument and helping to ensure that our communities have access to nature.”

The proposed monument is also critical to California’s efforts to fight climate change and conserve biodiversity. Given the size of the monument, it would contribute significantly to state and federal commitments to protect at least 30% of public lands and coastal waters by 2030. Some species that would benefit include the chuckwalla lizard, the desert tortoise, and the desert bighorn sheep. 

“Thank you, Senator Padilla and Representative Ruiz, for championing the effort to designate the new Chuckwalla National Monument,” said Frank Ruiz, Director of Audubon California’s Desert and Salton Sea Programs. “As our communities face the impacts of climate change, this is a critical step in protecting the special places that both people and birds need. Not only will the designation preserve vital habitat and safeguard the area’s biodiversity, it will ensure that local residents have access to the great outdoors.”

The proposed Chuckwalla National Monument is complementary to the goals of the Desert Renewable Energy Conservation Plan (DRECP), which identified areas suitable for renewable energy development as well as lands that should be safeguarded for their biological, cultural, recreation, and other values. It does not conflict with the development of renewable energy and, in fact, the monument boundaries were specifically drawn to avoid areas identified in the DRECP as suitable for development. The DRECP also identified many of the lands in the proposed monument as being important to conserve for their biological values. Permanently protecting these lands will help to fulfill the DRECP’s goal of balanced development and conservation.

Designating the national monument would also help preserve the California Desert’s military history by protecting training sites like Camp Young and Camp Coxcomb. These locations were used by General Patton to prepare American troops for overseas combat in World War II. Moreover, protecting public lands in the Desert helps provide a buffer for present-day military installations from development that may interfere with military airspace.  

“We applaud Senator Padilla for championing the proposed Chuckwalla National Monument,” said Janessa Goldbeck, CEO of Vet Voice Foundation and a Marine Corps veteran. “We see protecting these public lands as an extension of our service to this country and the duty of anyone who thinks of themselves as a patriot.”

Senator Padilla, Representative Ruiz, and local leaders are calling on President Biden to designate the Chuckwalla National Monument with the Antiquities Act. This 1906 law allows presidents to designate federal public lands, waters, and cultural and historical sites as national monuments with a Presidential Proclamation. 

Senator Padilla and Representative Ruiz are also calling for the designation of the Chuckwalla National Monument to honor Tribal sovereignty and introduce methods for Tribes to co-steward their homelands as partners with federal agencies. The proposed monument is part of a living landscape that holds spiritual significance and interconnected cultural and natural resources that continue to sustain the well-being and survival of Indigenous peoples today. 

“The Colorado River Indian Tribes (CRIT) support the permanent and long-term protection of ancestral lands and the cultural landscape through the designation of the Chuckwalla National Monument,” said Amelia Flores, Chairwoman of the Colorado River Indian Tribes. “This designation would protect these ancestral lands as well as require meaningful conversation. CRIT has worked tirelessly to preserve and protect water, resources, and sacred sites. This designation would clearly affirm CRIT’s spiritual, cultural, and ancestral connection to these lands.” 

The proposed national monument has garnered diverse local support, including from current and former local elected officials, the Fort Yuma Quechan Indian Tribe, the Torres Martinez Desert Cahuilla Indians, the Twenty-Nine Palms Band of Mission Indians, the Chemehuevi Indian Tribe, the Colorado River Indian Tribes, the Cahuilla Band of Indians, the cities of Banning, Cathedral City, Desert Hot Springs, Indian Wells, Indio, and Palm Springs, businesses, Chambers of Commerce, and residents of the eastern Coachella Valley and neighboring areas.

“Thank you, Senator Padilla and Representative Ruiz, for supporting the Coachella Valley’s youth,” said Mr. Lee Espinoza, Coachella Valley Boxing Club. “Throughout the years, I have instilled in many young athletes, many of whom became world champions, the love for their communities and the discipline of boxing. Our families in the Eastern Coachella Valley must have access to sports facilities and outdoor recreation to improve their physical and mental health. Establishing the Chuckwalla National Monument will provide our residents with easy and affordable outdoor recreation access while safeguarding our public lands for future generations.”