President Joe Biden is signing off on two new national Native American monuments in California that will ban drilling on 849,000 acres of land.
Chuckwalla National Monument will sit in the south and Sáttítla National Monument in the north of the state.
Why It Matters
Biden is using the final weeks of his presidency to build on long-established policy targets, in this instance conserving at least 30 percent of U.S. lands and waters by 2030 through his "America the Beautiful" initiative. The Chuckwalla and Sáttítla National Monuments join a growing list of protected areas under Biden's administration.
However, this isn't the first environmentally-charged proposition to come from the Biden administration during his last month in power—on Monday, he announced a ban on new offshore oil and gas drilling in most U.S. coastal waters.
President-elect Donald Trump claims last-minute calls like this only serve to make their power transition more complicated.
What We Know
The White House emphasized that these monuments will protect water resources, preserve culturally significant sites, and ensure access to nature for communities.
The designations block development activities such as mining and drilling, safeguarding ecosystems that are home to diverse plant and animal species.
Both monuments will be co-stewarded with tribes, enhancing tribal sovereignty and involvement in land management, continuing a trend of comanagement that began with Utah's Bears Ears National Monument.
Why the Land is Important to Native Americans
The Chuckwalla National Monument covers 624,000 acres in Southern California, spanning from the Coachella Valley to the Colorado River. Sáttítla National Monument includes 225,000 acres of pristine landscapes in Northern California.
Native Americans revere the land because of its deep cultural and spiritual importance, including the Cahuilla, Mohave, Pit River, and Modoc tribes.
Sáttítla is near California's northern border with Oregon. It encompasses mountain woodlands, meadows, and habitats for rare wildlife. Chuckwalla National Monument, named after the large desert lizard native to the region, protects public lands south of Joshua Tree National Park.
What People Are Saying
President and CEO of the nonprofit Trust for Public Land Carrie Besnette Hauser said the designation of the monuments "marks a historic step toward protecting lands of profound cultural, ecological and historical significance for all Americans."
A statement from Fort Yuma Quechan Tribe read: "The protection of the Chuckwalla National Monument brings the Quechan people an overwhelming sense of peace and joy [ …] tribes being reunited as stewards of this landscape is only the beginning of much-needed healing and restoration, and we are eager to fully rebuild our relationship to this place."
President-elect Donald Trump's spokesperson, Steven Cheung, told Newsweek in an email [regarding the ban on offshore oil and gas drilling]: "It's despicable what Joe Biden is doing, and he is going against the will of the people who gave President Donald Trump a historic mandate to Make America Great Again."
Donald Trump wrote on Truth Social "Biden is doing everything possible to make the TRANSITION as difficult as possible, from Lawfare such as has never been seen before, to costly and ridiculous Executive Orders on the Green New Scam and other money wasting Hoaxes."
What's Next
With Biden's term nearing its end, additional conservation announcements may follow as the administration seeks to solidify its environmental legacy.
Trump appears determined to unravel that, declaring on Monday to conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt that, after he's inaugurated on Jan. 20, Biden's drilling ban will "be changed on day one."
This article includes reporting from The Associated Press
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