FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
JUNE 8, 2017
Contact: Danielle Segura, Executive Director, Mojave Desert Land Trust
Phone: 760-820-2275
danielle@mdlt.org

California leaders respond to President Trump’s Executive Order attacking 7 National Monuments in-state, vow support for public lands

Joshua Tree, CA – In response to the Trump administration’s Executive Order to review national monuments, California legislators today passed Assembly Joint Resolution 15, a bill in support of the California State Legislature to continue protecting national monuments. The bill received bipartisan support in the legislature, with four Republican Assemblymembers and one Republican Senator voting in favor.The national monuments protect ecosystems, preserve local cultural heritage, and provide economic opportunities for surrounding communities. A recent Headwaters Economics report on the impact of national monuments shows that communities located near protected public lands have stronger economies and improved quality of life. The public overwhelmingly supports the protection of public lands; a 2014 Hart Research poll showed that 90% of voters supported Presidential proposals to protect public lands and waters as parks, wildlife refuges and wilderness.Diverse constituents from communities throughout the state convened a Monuments For All Rally on the steps of the state Capitol to celebrate passage of the resolution and the 111th anniversary of the Antiquities Act, which was used to designate the seven California national monuments now under threat from the President’s review.

Danielle Segura, Executive Director, Mojave Desert Land Trust, spoke out in support of Mojave Trails and Sand to Snow National Monuments for the ecosystems and cultural heritage they protect; the economic opportunities they provide; and the community support they received leading up to their designation in 2016. The Mojave Desert Land Trust’s Desert Defenders campaign has already received over 900 public comments in support of the two California desert national monuments up for review: Mojave Trails and Sand to Snow.

The Mojave Desert Land Trust (MDLT) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization with the mission to protect and care for lands with natural, scenic and cultural value within the Mojave Desert. For more information, visit www.mdlt.org