Over 700 People Attend as Momentum Continues to Grow for the Effort to Create a New National Monument in the California Desert

INDIO, CA — At a community meeting today hosted by the Department of the Interior, attendees called on President Biden to designate a new Chuckwalla National Monument and protect an area adjacent to Joshua Tree National Park. Representatives from the Department of the Interior and the Bureau of Land Management attended the meeting and heard from supportive Tribal leaders, local elected officials, business owners, conservation advocates, outdoor recreationists, and residents and community members. Over 86% of speakers at the event voiced their strong support for the proposal. Hundreds of additional attendees also came to show their support.  

“Establishing the Chuckwalla National Monument across California’s vast desert landscape would help us fight the climate crisis, protect critical wildlife corridors, preserve sacred tribal sites, and improve equitable access to nature for our local communities,” said U.S. Senator Alex Padilla (D-CA.). “I thank Deputy Secretary Daniel-Davis and BLM Director Stone Manning for holding this public meeting to ensure that Californians are able to make their voices heard in this process, and look forward to working alongside them, tribes, veterans, and local businesses to protect these sacred landscapes.”

“Today’s meeting was a crucial step in our continued efforts, with the Biden-Harris Administration, to establish the Chuckwalla National Monument,” said Congressman Dr. Raul Ruiz (CA-25). “This monument will positively impact the environment, boost the economy, and enhance public health.”

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 is also proposing to protect approximately 17,000 acres of public lands in the Eagle Mountains that are adjacent to Joshua Tree National Park. 

“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 the Department of the Interior for hosting a community meeting and hearing our perspective.”

Today’s community meeting represents a critical step forward in the effort to create the National Monument. In May, Interior Secretary Deb Haaland also visited the area, held a roundtable with Tribal leaders, and met with local community members and elected officials.

“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.”

The proposed monument is critical to California’s efforts to fight climate change and conserve biodiversity. Given the size of the proposal area, designating the monument 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. 

“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 protection of 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.  

“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 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.

“The Eastern Coachella Valley community came out to show their strong support for designating the 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.”

Designating the national monument would also help preserve the California Desert’s military history (https://bit.ly/MonumentsReport) 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.  

“The community meeting was a great opportunity for the local community to share their support of designating the Chuckwalla National Monument. I was proud to share the vital role public lands and time in nature have played in my well-being,” said Craig Meling, former U.S. Army Major who lives in the Coachella Valley. “After eighteen years and multiple deployments, I left the Army. And I was struggling. A major part of my transition back to civilian life and healing has been time spent with nature. I owe it to myself and my fellow veterans to continue to push for the preservation of these lands for both their history and to serve as a respite for those seeking a reprieve from the trauma of war.” 

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. 

“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.”

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, businesses, Chambers of Commerce, and residents of the eastern Coachella Valley and neighboring areas.