COACHELLA, CA — Over 225 businesses and business groups, 175 local to the Coachella Valley and Inland Empire region, have now urged President Biden to designate a new Chuckwalla National Monument. These business owners join Tribal leaders, elected officials, conservation advocates, outdoor recreationists, and residents and community members in expressing support for the proposal. Proponents of protecting the area laud its potential to help boost and diversify local economies, ensure access to the outdoors for residents, and protect biodiversity and cultural resources.  

“The proposed Chuckwalla National Monument and protecting lands adjacent to Joshua Tree National Park will provide even more opportunities for people to access the outdoors, as well as protect our beautiful deserts,” said Gary Gardner, Joint Powers Authority Chair, Visit Greater Palm Springs and Desert Hot Springs City Council Member. “Outdoor recreation and access to our gorgeous desert lands are among the primary drivers of our tourism-based economy and are part of what makes living here so special.”

Designating the Chuckwalla National Monument could add to the significant growth and popularity of tourism in the region, which already brings $9 billion to the local economy. According to research done by Visit Greater Palm Springs, three of the top five experiences that potential visitors want include activities in nature and the outdoors. The monument could help attract more visitors and boost the local economy, particularly for businesses in “gateway” towns like Coachella, Mecca, and Thermal near the monument. 

“The Hemet San Jacinto Valley Chamber of Commerce enthusiastically supports the proposed Chuckwalla National Monument,” said Cyndi Lemke, Executive Director, Hemet San Jacinto 

Valley Chamber of Commerce. “The designation would help ensure access to nature for local residents and would add to a diversified economy that increases opportunities for tourism, jobs, and investments in our communities.”

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. This effort also proposes protecting approximately 17,000 acres of public lands in the Eagle Mountains adjacent to Joshua Tree National Park. 

A 2020 study from Resources for the Future provides more information on the economic benefits of national monuments. In general, outdoor recreation contributes significantly to California’s economy, adding over $54.7 billion to the state’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and supporting over 517,000 jobs in the state. National monuments help nearby communities diversify economically while increasing the quality of life and recreational opportunities that attract new residents, businesses, and investment.

“The proposed Chuckwalla National Monument in the California Desert would help address the gap that Latinos face in accessing nature,” said Iris Gutierrez, President, 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.”

Protecting these public lands would also 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.  

 “Throughout the years, I have instilled in many young athletes the love for their communities and the discipline of boxing,” said Mr. Lee Espinoza of the Coachella Valley Boxing Club. “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.”

 Over 700 community members recently attended a community meeting hosted by the Department of the Interior on the proposed monument. More than 86% of speakers at the event voiced their strong support for the proposal and hundreds more attended to show their support. Interior Secretary Deb Haaland also visited the area in May to hold a roundtable with Tribal leaders and meet with local community members and elected officials.

“I support the proposed Chuckwalla National Monument,” said Evan Trubee, Owner of Big Wheel Tours and Palm Desert City Councilmember. “Protecting public lands here in the Coachella Valley will preserve the wildlife and beautiful landscapes that make our desert home unique. It will help ensure access to the outdoors for our local communities and protect the nature that draws visitors to Riverside and Imperial Counties.”

 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. The monument boundaries were specifically drawn to avoid areas identified in the DRECP as suitable for renewable energy 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.

 “This legislation is a testament to the reality that conservation and renewable energy progress go hand in hand,” said Raisa Lee, Sr. Director of Development, Clearway Energy Group. “We are grateful to Senator Padilla, Senator Butler, and Representative Ruiz for their tireless and collaborative work to protect biological and cultural areas while advancing our county’s clean energy goals. We join lawmakers in urging President Biden to designate this monument.”

 Senator Alex Padilla, Representative Raul Ruiz, M.D., 24 members of the California congressional delegation including Senator Laphonza Butler, and local leaders have called for 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. 

 The designation of the Chuckwalla National Monument by President Biden would cement his legacy as a public lands champion. To date, President Biden has designated five new national monuments and expanded two, protecting over 1.6 million acres of public lands using the Antiquities Act. By designating Chuckwalla National Monument, President Biden can solidify an immense conservation achievement: protecting the most public lands using the Antiquities Act of any recent president in their first four years in office.

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

To learn more about this effort visit www.protectchuckwalla.org.

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About the Protect CA Deserts Coalition

Protect CA Deserts is a coalition of local, regional, and national organizations working together on the historic opportunity to designate the Chuckwalla National Monument and expand Joshua Tree National Park. This will help ensure access to nature for local residents and visitors, protect unique biodiversity, safeguard the desert’s rich history, and honor the cultural landscape 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. For more information, visit protectchuckwalla.org.