Momentum is building to create a new national monument in the California desert!
The public lands legislative proposal is being organized to honor and recognize the Indigenous cultural histories of the Iviatim, Kwatsáan, Maarrenga’yam, Nüwü, Pipa Aha Macav (the Cahuilla, Chemehuevi, Mojave, Quechan, & Serrano) peoples; increase access to world-class nature for residents and visitors; protect fragile desert wildlife and facilitate habitat connectivity; and help boost local economies. The California deserts are important habitat for an incredible number of imperiled and rare species. Almost the entirety of the proposed monument is critical habitat for the threatened desert tortoise, bighorn sheep, chuckwalla, and is the planned destination for reintroduction of Sonoran pronghorn.
The Protect California Deserts campaign aims to accomplish the following:
- Establish a new national monument in the Chuckwalla Valley that will border the southern edge of Joshua Tree National Park.
- Honor the homelands of the Iviatim, Kwatsáan, Maarrenga’yam, Nüwü, Pipa Aha Macav (the Cahuilla, Chemehuevi, Mojave, Quechan, & Serrano) peoples.
- Protect geological wonders such as Painted Canyon in Mecca Hills.
- Expand protections for Joshua Tree National Park eastward into the Eagle Mountain Area.
- Honor the work of Cesar Chavez, Dolores Huerta, and Larry Itliong and the United Farm Workers in Riverside County.
- Protect World War II-era training sites, including the Patton training camps.
- Call for a recreational needs study to be completed by the Bureau of Land Management and US Forest Service, focusing on quiet recreation opportunities in the Mecca Hills/Orocopia Mountains Area.
California’s deserts span over 26 million acres and are like nowhere else on Earth. The deserts of Riverside and Imperial Counties include palm oases, rocky mountain ranges, and lush desert woodlands that host unique plants such as the Chuckwalla Cholla cactus and threatened animals such as the desert tortoise and flat-tailed horned lizard. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service selected the lands in the proposed national monument as a re-introduction site for the iconic and critically endangered Sonoran pronghorn.
These public lands offer world-renowned recreation opportunities and are essential to enhancing equitable outdoor access for local communities. They are the ancestral homelands of many Tribes since time immemorial. The region also contains important historical values, and tourism in the area helps contribute to a sustainable economic engine for nearby communities.
In the coming months we look forward to sharing more details about this campaign.
Protect California Deserts information
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