Biden Establishes Two New National Monuments in California

With less than two weeks left in the White House, President Joe Biden has established two new national monuments in California to honor Native American tribes: the Chuckwalla National Monument in southern California and the Sáttítla Highlands National Monument in northern California.

Together, they represent more than 848,000 acres of public lands, which will now be protected from drilling and mining. Native American tribes, with the support of some public officials and conservation groups, had been urging lawmakers to protect both areas.

Biden was scheduled to make a formal announcement from the eastern Coachella Valley earlier today, but the event was canceled due to a fierce windstorm, as the Associated Press’ Colleen Long and Matthew Daly report. He will deliver the speech from the White House next week.

Located near Joshua Tree National Park, Chuckwalla National Monument spans 624,000 acres. With its canyons, mountains and desert landscapes, the national monument serves as a habitat for a variety of animals, including desert bighorn sheep, Gila woodpeckers and Agassiz’s desert tortoises.

The region is considered sacred to numerous Native American tribes, as it factors into their creation stories. The national monument encompasses the ancestral homelands of the Iviatim, Nüwü, Pipa Aha Macav, Kwatsáan and Maara’yam peoples, according to the U.S. Department of the Interior. It also protects ancient trail systems and artifacts, including ceramics, tools, dwellings and petroglyphs.

“The protection of the Chuckwalla National Monument brings the Quechan people an overwhelming sense of peace and joy,” says the Fort Yuma Quechan Tribe in a statement. “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.”

In addition to its tribal significance, the national monument also protects historic mining shafts and the Bradshaw Trail, an overland stage route used by gold miners and other travelers in the mid-1800s. The site is also home to the remnants of World War II training camps, which were used to prepare soldiers for combat in North Africa.

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At the opposite end of the state, not far from the Oregon border, Biden established the Sáttítla Highlands National Monument, which protects more than 224,000 acres.

Indigenous groups have inhabited the area for more than 5,000 years. Today, the site remains culturally and spiritually important to the Pit River, Modoc, Klamath, Shasta, Wintu, Yana, Siletz and Karuk peoples, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

“Sáttítla is not just a piece of land; it’s the heart of our heritage and the source of life for current and future generations,” Yatch Bamford, chairman of the Pit River Tribe, told the Navajo-Hopi Observer’s Stan Bindell in October.

The national monument also encompasses the Medicine Lake Volcano, one of the largest volcanoes in the Cascade Range. The volcano shaped the landscape for millennia, creating natural features like the Giant Crater, a lengthy lava tube system.

The permeable volcanic rock found throughout the region allows rainwater to seep beneath the surface and collect in large underground aquifers, which provide water to northern California communities.

Earlier this week, Biden banned offshore drilling in 625 million acres of federal waters. The ban includes parts of the Northern Bering Sea, which many tribes in Alaska have been trying to protect for decades, per Native News Online’s Brian Edwards. According to the White House, Biden has created ten new national monuments, expanded two existing national monuments and restored three others during his presidency.

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Sarah Kuta is a writer and editor based in Longmont, Colorado. She covers history, science, travel, food and beverage, sustainability, economics and other topics.