Cali, Colombia — Today, Tribal representatives called on President Biden to designate new national monuments in the California Desert in order to protect sacred Tribal lands and cultural landscapes and imperiled biodiversity. They issued their call to action from Cali, Colombia, where they are participating in the 16th United Nations Conference on Biological Diversity (COP16). The proposed national monuments in the California Desert include Kw’tsán National Monument in Imperial County and Chuckwalla National Monument in Riverside and Imperial Counties. Tribal representatives also highlighted the opportunity to protect public lands in far Northern California with the proposed Sáttítla National Monument.

“Indigenous people have waited long enough for our demands about protecting biodiversity to be taken seriously by state and federal governments,” said Lena Ortega, Kw’tsán Cultural Committee Member, Fort Yuma Quechan Indian Tribe and participant at COP16. “For us, it’s about more than protecting the environment. Our culture, spirituality, and identity are connected to the ecosystems our people have inhabited for thousands of years. If a species goes extinct, if a mountain is destroyed by mining, if a river runs dry due to over-extraction – that is the same thing to us as losing a relative or having someone close to us harmed. We lose a part of ourselves and our history.”

National monuments are designated to permanently protect federal lands and waters in the United States with cultural, historical, ecological, and scientific values. Designating the three proposed monuments would protect thousands of plant and animal species in the state with the highest risks of extinction in the United States. Thanks to a 1906 law called the Antiquities Act, the president can establish new national monuments with a Presidential Proclamation. Tribes are advocating for these designations as a way to permanently protect places of great cultural significance and biodiversity. They are also calling for the opportunity to co-steward their homelands in partnership with federal agencies.

“We are here at COP16 to ensure our voices are being heard as we call for two national monuments for our homelands – Kw’tsán National Monument and Chuckwalla National Monument – and to help amplify the voices of global Indigenous communities who are in the same fight as us to preserve our culture for future generations,” continued Lena Ortega. “We are here to stand up for the many nonhuman beings that cannot speak for themselves and who teach us every day how to live in balance with the natural world.”

Scientists worldwide agree that by 2030, we must protect at least 30% of the planet’s lands and coastal waters to curb extinction rates and prevent the most severe impacts of climate change (referred to as the 30×30 goal). These proposed national monument designations would contribute significantly to the 30×30 goal set forth by both the Biden administration and the state of California. The global effort to reach 30×30 is a key focus of international leaders gathered in Cali, Colombia, for COP16.

Each monument designation would conserve habitat for threatened and endangered wildlife and plants that are found nowhere else in the world. The proposed Chuckwalla National Monument, for example, is home to more than 50 species that are threatened, endangered, sensitive, or otherwise of concern. The area also contains several endemic species found nowhere else in the world. The preservation of this landscape is critical for the survival of native species in the face of climate change-related habitat loss, warming temperatures, and increased drought.

“The Desert is a rich tapestry of our heritage; it’s a living, breathing testament to our people’s resilience, our history, and our spiritual connection with nature,” said Chairman Thomas Tortez Jr. of the Torres Martinez Desert Cahuilla Indians, who added his perspective from California. “Our footprints have been etched into the landscape since the beginning of time, and we continue to provide stewardship over these lands and advocate for their protection. This profound bond is why we urge President Biden to establish the Chuckwalla National Monument.”

As President Biden approaches the end of his term, these designations present an opportunity to cement his significant conservation legacy and deliver on key priorities for his administration and Tribal nations in California. 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. With additional designations, President Biden can secure an immense achievement: protecting more public lands using the Antiquities Act of any recent president in their first four years in office. 

Below are additional descriptions of each proposed monument.

Kw’tsán National Monument

The Fort Yuma Quechan Indian Tribe has called on President Biden to designate the proposed Kw’tsán National Monument to protect more than 390,000 acres of the Tribe’s homelands in Imperial County. The proposed monument is part of a greater cultural landscape that connects to the Chuckwalla National Monument and the previously designated Avi Kwa Ame National Monument in Nevada. National monument status for Kw’tsán would provide protections for cultural and sacred sites and prevent new mining claims and large industrial development within its boundaries.

Chuckwalla National Monument

The proposed Chuckwalla National Monument includes approximately 644,000 acres of public lands in Riverside and Imperial Counties. 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 public lands in the Eagle Mountains adjacent to Joshua Tree National Park. Six Tribes have called on President Biden to protect this cultural landscape: 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, and the Twenty-Nine Palms Band of Mission Indians.

Sáttítla National Monument

The proposed Sáttítla National Monument includes over 200,000 acres of culturally significant, ecologically rich, and geologically unique land within the Shasta-Trinity, Klamath, and Modoc National Forests in northeastern California. Since time immemorial, the Pit River Nation has regarded Sáttítla as sacred, and this area remains a spiritual center for the Pit River and Modoc Nations as well as for surrounding Tribal Peoples. This sacred land remains integral to the cultural identity and spiritual practices of these peoples today. The Pit River Tribe initiated the call for this national monument and has been working for generations to protect this landscape from the threat of industrial development.

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