For communities of residents in places like Morongo Valley, Yucca Valley, Joshua Tree and Twentynine Palms, the national monument designation is pure elation for what it means for conservation as link between the San Bernardino Mountains and Joshua Tree National Park, said Frazier Haney, conservation director for Joshua Tree-based Mojave Desert Land Trust. “We worked to have this designation for seven years,” Haney said, in an interview prior to the monument sign dedication.

The White House has announced that three new National Monuments will be designated in the California Desert, covering almost two million acres of some of the wildest, most ecologically crucial landscapes remaining in the state. The monuments, which will be formally announced by President Obama on Friday, will fill in the blank spots in what is now a nearly unbroken chain of protected land stretching from the Southern California coast to the Colorado Plateau.

At 1.6 million acres, the Mojave Trails Monument is the largest of the three. The name refers to the desert trails that the Chemehuevi people used to follow along the trading routes to the Pacific. The monument also follows a more modern trail: the snaking Route 66, one of the most iconic roadways in the United States. And it includes huge stretches of mountain-and-basin terrain that aren’t paved. “You can explore Mojave Trails up into the hills, and you can see for 100 miles and not see any roads or buildings,” says Frazier Haney, conservation director of the Mojave Desert Land Trust. “It’s as big a vista as you can find anywhere.”

With his second term winding down, Obama has now protected more than 265 million acres of land and water, more than any other administration. A year ago, Obama designated much of the Angeles National Forest as the San Gabriel Mountains National Monument. The designations, which do not include funding, were supported by groups including the nonprofit National Parks Conservation Assn., the Sierra Club, Defenders of Wildlife, the Center for Biological Diversity and the Mojave Desert Land Trust.

An AmeriCorps National Civilian Community Corps (NCCC) team is serving with members of the Mojave Desert Land Trust (MDLT) from Jan. 12 to March 15 in an effort to engage local communities in conserving and restoring the environment. The team, known as Gold Two, is made up of 13 members ranging in age from 18 to 24.

The California desert is an icon in the cultural arts community. It teaches us about form and shape along sand dune crests, shows us inspiring colors in sunrise and sunset, and gives a sense of freedom in its expansive landscapes. Artists have long been central to sharing and interpreting the experience of landscapes like this desert while leading efforts to protect them. Portraying this beauty helped spur the movement to create the U.S. Forest Service, the National Park system, and later, the passage of the Antiquities Act in 1906.