COACHELLA — The future of the Chuckwalla National Monument was uncertain Sunday, March 16, after reports of President Donald Trump planning to rescind the creation of the monument came to light.
President Joe Biden declared the national monument before leaving office in January, protecting 624,270 acres of desert habitat in Riverside and Imperial counties from development.
The New York Times and Washington Post both reported Trump’s pending action on the monument Saturday, after the White House posted a fact sheet late Friday citing numerous executive orders rolling back actions of the Biden administration, including one “terminating proclamations declaring a million acres of new national monuments that lock up vast amounts of land that lock up economic development and energy production.”
However, that item was later removed, and the White House had not issued further clarification as of midday Sunday.
The Post reported that Trump also planned to rescind the Sáttítla Highlands National Monument in Northern California.
Coachella Valley leaders were advocating for maintaining the protection, and vowing to fight any attempt to rescind it.
“I hope the Trump administration doesn’t alter Chuckwalla National Monument. Chuckwalla is extremely popular across the political spectrum and was advocated for by a large, bipartisan coalition. Our local communities know that safeguarding our desert is good for the economy and is smart for the well-being of generations to come,” said Assemblyman Greg Wallis, R-Bermuda Dunes.
Palm Desert City Councilman Evan Turbee, who owns Big Wheel Tours, said his business, which takes visitors out to experience off-roading adventures in Chuckwalla, depends on the protected land.
“Hundreds of business owners like myself advocated for Chuckwalla National Monument to be protected and removing those protections would be deeply, deeply unpopular. There is nothing partisan about it — it’s something our community really fought for,” he said.
“Chuckwalla National Monument isn’t just a stretch of land — it’s a historic military training ground where American troops honed their skills in the unforgiving desert before heading into battle during WWII. It’s a place of deep significance where veterans and civilians alike find recreation, reflection, and refuge. Taking a sledgehammer to it would throw open the gates to corporate interests and the highest bidder,” said Janessa Goldbeck, a U.S. Marine Corps veteran and CEO of Vet Voice Foundation.
Iris Gutierrez, executive director of the High Desert Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, said she is one of more than 300 business leaders who called for the Chuckwalla National Monument to be established.
“We should protect this economic engine, not put it on the chopping block. Any attacks on our public lands will be a setback for local businesses and threaten the local quality of life we all enjoy,” Gutierrez said.
Along with the Chuckwalla National Monument, the Sáttítla Highlands National Monument near Mount Shasta in northern California was also included in the plans to be rescinded, according to reports from the New York Tines and the Washington Post.
Both the Chuckwalla and Sáttítla monuments were established under the Antiquities Act of 1906, and it was unclear under what legal authority Trump could roll back their designations.
Attempts to reach the White House for comment over the weekend were not immediately successful.
Advocates for the national monument said last year that they were seeking to protect the homelands of the Iviatim, Nüwü, Pipa Aha Macav, Kwatsáan and Maara’yam peoples, also known as the Cahuilla, Chemehuevi, Mohave (CRIT Mohave), Quechan and Serrano nations.
“Since time immemorial, we have called the lands in the proposed Chuckwalla National Monument home,” said Secretary Altrena Santillanes of the Torres Martinez Desert Cahuilla Indians. “These lands contain thousands of cultural places and objects of vital importance to the history and identity of the Torres Martinez Desert Cahuilla Indians.”
Advocates said it would also “protect important heritage values tied to the land, such as multi-use trail systems established by Indigenous peoples and sacred sites,” in addition to further recognizing tribal sovereignty and allow new ways for tribes to co-steward their homelands with federal agencies.
They said added protections for public lands would increase equitability in accessing the natural parts of the eastern Coachella Valley and surrounding areas, such as Mecca’s Painted Canyon trail and the Bradshaw Trail in southeastern Riverside County.