President Joe Biden has signed a proclamation naming two new national monuments in California, protecting 848,000 acres of land that are of ‘scientific, cultural, ecological, and historical importance.’
The White House said in a statement: “With today’s designations and yesterday’s actions to protect the East and West coasts and Northern Bering Sea from offshore oil and natural gas drilling, President Biden has now protected 647 acres of U.S. land and water. By designating this new national monument, President Biden is enhancing outdoor access for nearby communities, preserving critical habitat for imperiled and rare species, and ensuring the ancestral homelands and sacred cultural legacies and the region’s Tribal Nations endure for generations to come. All the while demonstrating that clean energy and conservation can go hand in hand. The monument will be managed by the Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Land Management.”
According to a White House statement, the Chuckwalla National Monument preserves more than 624,000 acres just south of Joshua Tree National Park. The area holds cultural and historical significance for tribes including the Cahuilla, Chemehuevi, Mojave, Quechan and Serrano. The monument will protect habitats for species including the desert tortoise, bighorn sheep and the Chuckwalla lizard, for which it is named, and will provide outdoor recreation opportunities for nearby poor communities.
The White House said the Chuckwalla monument will allow the construction and expansion of electric transmission lines to transport clean energy to population centers in the West. Renewable energy projects will be able to be developed near or adjacent to the monument. Laura Daniel-Davis, the Interior Department’s acting deputy secretary, said in a statement: “The establishment of Chuckwalla National Monument demonstrates that we can balance conservation and drive toward a clean energy future that serves everyone.”
The Sattitla Highlands National Monument in northern California will preserve 224,000 acres across three national forests. The area is sacred to the Pit River and Modoc tribes, and Brandy McDaniels, a Pit River tribe member who has advocated for the creation of the monument, are welcoming lasting protection: “As tribal people that are socio-economically suppressed, we are constantly faced with corporations that have endless resources to come and exploit and degrade our water resources and our land.”
Per Reuters, the moves are aligned with the Biden administration’s goal of conserving at least 30% of U.S. lands and waters by 2030. Under federal law, presidents have the authority to create or alter national monuments in recognition of a site’s cultural, historical or scientific importance, but a designation can be rescinded by a future president.
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