On January 14, President Biden’s signature officially designated two new national monuments in the State of California! This is an exciting result of years of advocacy from the Pit River Nation, Torres Martinez Desert Cahuilla Indians, Fort Yuma Quechan Indian Tribe, Cahuilla Band of Indians, Chemehuevi Indian Tribe, Colorado River Indian Tribes, and Twenty-Nine Palms Band of Mission Indians, who have all advocated long and hard for their ancestral homelands to be better protected through these designations.
The new Sáttítla (Medicine Lake) Highlands National Monument will protect 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. The designation of this national monument is the result of generations of Pit River peoples who have driven the campaign to protect these sacred lands and waters. This volcanic-spring-fed aquifer is crucial for adapting to climate change and supporting endangered native species, like salmon, trout, and steelhead. The lands and waters of Sáttítla are a spiritual center for the Pit River and Modoc Nations, as well as for surrounding Tribal Peoples, and remain integral to the cultural identity and spiritual practices of these peoples today. Sáttítla also serves as a water recharge site and supplies drinking water to California. In addition to the high quality volume of water it provides for downstream fisheries, communities, and businesses, this designation will continue to stand as a cultural site for the Pit River Nation and Modoc Nations for generations to come.
Home to the Chuckwalla lizard, the new Chuckwalla National Monument includes approximately 644,000 acres of public lands in Riverside and Imperial Counties. This national monument 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. Six tribes have successfully 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. Additionally, almost the entirety of these protected lands serve as critical habitat for the threatened desert tortoise, bighorn sheep, and chuckwalla, and also include the planned destination for reintroduction of Sonoran pronghorn.
The iconic chuckwalla, the largest non-venomous lizards in the United States for which the National Monument is named, will greatly benefit from this land conservation effort. As true creatures of the desert, they rely greatly on plants as their source of water. They can live up to 30 years old in the wild, and 50 years in captivity. Their preferred habitat is threatened by human development, so we are ecstatic to see more land set aside for chuckwallas and other fascinating creatures to roam and thrive in their native desert homes.
In total, the two national monument designations will add 500,000 acres of land to be protected under California’s 30x30 movement. California’s definition of conservation under the 30x30 movement is the strongest definition of conservation that we have in the country. We are excited to see such amazing progress towards 30x30 in California through these designations. The protections for the incredible flora and fauna that reside in these special places will be exceptional, as they will be managed for their biodiversity.
Thank you to the tribes who worked tirelessly for generations to protect these special places, and thank you all to those who signed petitions, attended public meetings and gave letters of support to President Biden, urging him to designate these monuments. Your efforts have truly paid off.
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