Effort To Conserve Huge Swath Of Public Land In RivCo Gains Momentum

RIVERSIDE COUNTY, CA — A push to conserve a 627,855-acre swath of public land in the Southern California desert — much of it in Riverside County — got a boost over the weekend when a top Biden Administration official stopped by for a firsthand look at the proposal.

On Saturday, U.S. Interior Secretary Deb Haaland visited the proposed Chuckwalla National Monument. The monument spans eastern Riverside County and a portion of Imperial County, east of the Salton Sea. The boundaries weave through the desert around tribal lands, as well as around areas established for electric power lines, sites designated for renewable energy construction and military installations.

If established, it would become one of the largest land monuments in the continental United States.

Haaland met with tribal leaders, community advocates and lawmakers who are asking Biden to use his power under the Antiquities Act of 1906 to approve the project.

Haaland is the first Native American to serve as a cabinet secretary.

“It is an honor to welcome Secretary Deb Haaland to the Golden State to learn more about our efforts to conserve the natural and cultural wonders of the California Desert,” U.S. Senator Alex Padilla said. "I look forward to continuing to work with the Biden-Harris Administration to fulfill the vision of establishing the Chuckwalla National Monument to protect critical wildlife habitat, preserve sacred tribal sites, and improve equitable access to nature for our local communities."

A federal bill announced last month aims to establish the monument. Titled the Chuckwalla National Monument Establishment and Joshua Tree National Park Expansion Act of 2024, it is championed by Padilla, U.S. Congressman Raul Ruiz and U.S. Sen. Laphonza Butler. As its name implies, the bill also includes language to expand Joshua Tree National Park by approximately 17,915 acres with previously designated public lands.

"This visit from Secretary Haaland is a crucial next step towards the President establishing the Chuckwalla National Monument and protecting lands adjacent to Joshua Tree National Park," Ruiz said.

There are signs that Biden is eager to create the monument. On May 2, he announced the expansion of two California sites. The San Gabriel Mountains National Monument in Los Angeles County was expanded by approximately 110,000 acres and the Berryessa Snow Mountain National Monument in Northern California by 13,753 acres.

Establishing the Chuckwalla National Monument would contribute to the Biden Administration’s goal under Executive Order 14008 of permanently conserving 30 percent of U.S. lands and coastal waters by 2030.

"The Chuckwalla National Monument is good for the environment, the economy, and the public’s health," Ruiz said. "I am thrilled that our robust coalition of community and tribal leaders have successfully built the necessary momentum that protects our environment and wildlife while promoting the growth of renewable energy."

In addition to input from tribal leaders, the Chuckwalla National Monument boundaries were crafted with feedback from leaders within the renewable energy industry, conservation groups, utility companies, community organizations and youth leaders, according to the bill's supporters.

"The Chuckwalla National Monument will protect environmental resources and tribal lands while creating an energy corridor for the electric power lines essential for the state’s clean energy future," Pedro J. Pizarro, president and CEO, Edison International, said in a statement last month.

The monument supports the Desert Renewable Energy Conservation Plan, which identified public lands suitable for renewable energy development; the monument boundaries were specifically drawn to avoid DRECP areas, according to supporters.

"This legislation is a testament to the reality that conservation and renewable energy progress go hand in hand,” said Raisa Lee, senior director of development, Clearway Energy Group.

Solar Energy Industries Association was also involved in crafting the legislation.

Lands within the proposed monument are home to over 150 plant species, many of which cannot be found anywhere else, and over 50 sensitive animal species, according to the bill's text.

The proposed monument area also includes the homelands of the Iviatim, Nüwü, Pipa Aha Macav, Kwatsáan, and Maara’yam peoples (Cahuilla, Chemehuevi, Mojave, Quechan, and Serrano nations).

Designating the Chuckwalla National Monument would help protect important spiritual and cultural values tied to the land, such as multi-use trail systems established by indigenous peoples, sacred sites and objects, traditional cultural places, geoglyphs, petroglyphs, pictographs, and native plants and wildlife, according to the bill's supporters.

"For thousands of years, the Torres Martinez Desert Cahuilla Indians have called the lands in the proposed Chuckwalla National Monument home," said Chairman Thomas Tortez Jr. of the Torres Martinez Desert Cahuilla Indians. "The area contains thousands of cultural places and objects of vital importance to the history and identity of the Torres Martinez Desert Cahuilla Indians. We strongly support the designation of the Chuckwalla National Monument and thank Secretary Haaland for visiting and learning more about this effort."

Jordan D. Joaquin, president of the Fort Yuma Quechan Indian Tribe said, "These lands encompass our origins, history, songs, religious ceremonies, ancient sites, trails, petroglyphs, artifacts, and intaglios that are spread throughout our traditional territories. Our footsteps are etched into the landscape since the beginning of time and we continue to persist in modern times, still providing stewardship over these lands. We are wholeheartedly in support of the proposed Chuckwalla National Monument."