Proposed Chuckwalla National Monument
As a part of the Protect California Desert campaign, MDLT is working with conservation partners and Tribal leaders to preserve one of the most expansive and highest quality representations of the Colorado Desert in this region by establishing Chuckwalla National Monument. Situated within one of the largest intact ecosystems in the United States outside of Alaska, the proposed monument spans approximately 621,000 acres from the Coachella Valley region in the west to near the Colorado River in the east.
The new Chuckwalla National Monument will honor and recognize the Indigenous cultural histories of the Iviatim, Kwatsáan, Maarrenga’yam, Nüwü, Pipa Aha Macav (the Cahuilla, Chemehuevi, Mojave, Quechan, & Serrano) peoples; increase access to world-class nature for residents and visitors; protect fragile desert wildlife and facilitate habitat connectivity; and help boost local economies. The California deserts are important habitat for an incredible number of imperiled and rare species. Almost the entirety of the proposed monument is critical habitat for the threatened desert tortoise, bighorn sheep, chuckwalla, and is the planned destination for reintroduction of Sonoran pronghorn.
Photo: Bob Wick
Advocacy status
Photo: Colin Barrows - Cactus To Cloud
MDLT supports the Protect California Desert campaign through grassroots community engagement, working with experts to increase public awareness, and engaging local, state, and federal agencies and elected officials.
On April 16th, 2024, legislation was introduced by United States Senator Alex Padilla and reintroduced by Congressman Raul Ruiz, M.D. to establish a new Chuckwalla National Monument. In a joint letter, Senator Padilla and Congressman Ruiz subsequently called on President Joe Biden to use the Antiquities Act to designate the proposed national monument. The Antiquities Act allows presidents to designate federal public lands, waters, and cultural historical sites as national monuments with a Presidential Proclamation. The bills introduced by Sen. Padilla and Rep. Ruiz will be referred to the Senate and House Natural Resources Committees. A presidential designation would supersede further action in Congress.
The proposed Chuckwalla National Monument has also garnered diverse local support, including from current and former local elected officials, the Fort Yuma Quechan Indian Tribe, the Torres Martinez Desert Cahuilla Indians, the Twenty-Nine Palms Band of Mission Indians, the Chemehuevi Indian Tribe, the Colorado River Indian Tribes, the Cahuilla Band of Indians, the cities of Banning, Desert Hot Springs, Indian Wells, Indio and Palm Springs, businesses, Chambers of Commerce, and residents of the eastern Coachella Valley and neighboring areas.
The Protect California Deserts campaign aims to accomplish the following:
Establish a new national monument in the Chuckwalla Valley that will border the southern edge of Joshua Tree National Park.
Honor the homelands of the Iviatim, Kwatsáan, Maarrenga’yam, Nüwü, Pipa Aha Macav (the Cahuilla, Chemehuevi, Mojave, Quechan, & Serrano) peoples.
Protect geological wonders such as Painted Canyon in Mecca Hills.
Expand protections for Joshua Tree National Park eastward into the Eagle Mountain Area.
Protect World War II-era training sites including the Patton training camps and historical mining sites.
Ensure that special places like the Mecca Hills, Orocopia Mountains, and Bradshaw Trail are here for future generations of local communities to recreate. The proposal seeks a Bureau of Land Management study to assess recreational needs for the area.
A scenic view within the boundary of the proposed national monument in Eastern Riverside County. Photo: Colin Barrows - Cactus To Cloud
For more information: protectchuckwalla.org, read our FAQs, or email info@protectcadeserts.org
Read the LA Times article: Chuckwalla National Monument would protect swatch of California desert and preserve a sacred land
California’s deserts span over 26 million acres and are like nowhere else on Earth. The deserts of Riverside and Imperial Counties include palm oases, rocky mountain ranges, and lush desert woodlands that host unique plants such as the Chuckwalla Cholla cactus and threatened animals such as the desert tortoise and flat-tailed horned lizard. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service selected the lands in the proposed national monument as a re-introduction site for the iconic and critically endangered Sonoran pronghorn.
These public lands offer world-renowned recreation opportunities and are essential to enhancing equitable outdoor access for local communities. They are the ancestral homelands of many Tribes since time immemorial. The region also contains important historical values, and tourism in the area helps contribute to a sustainable economic engine for nearby communities (leer en español).
An aerial tour of the proposed Chuckwalla National Monument just east of the Coachella Valley, California. Video courtesy of the Desert Sun.