UPDATE January 14, 2025–President Joe Biden officially designated Chuckwalla National Monument and Sáttítla Highlands National Monument today, marking a historic moment for the protection of California’s rich cultural and natural heritage.
January 7, 2025–Today, President Joe Biden announced the planned designations of Chuckwalla National Monument and the Sáttítla Highlands National Monument, protecting 848,000 acres of lands rich in natural and cultural significance. Tribal members, local communities, and organizations, including the California Native Plant Society (CNPS), celebrated the news, which follows years–even decades–of work from Tribes and supporters.
Read the full news releases from the Protect Sattitla and Protect Chuckwalla campaigns for details on today’s news, which honors the calls of Tribal leaders.
“For generations, my people have fought to protect Sáttítla, and today we celebrate the voices of our Ancestors being heard,” said Yatch Bamford, Chairman of the Pit River Nation. “Sáttítla Highlands National Monument is a victory not just for Tribal Nations but for every American who understands the value of clean water, healthy lands, and preserving the true history of these United States of America. These designations demonstrate what is possible when we center Indigenous leadership and honor the deep connections between Tribes and their homelands. We thank President Biden for listening to the many diverse voices that called for this designation and for standing in solidarity with the Pit River Nation.”
Tribal members joined U.S. and State government officials–including U.S. Department of Interior Secretary Deb Haaland, Senators Alex Padilla and Adam Schiff, Rep. Raul Ruiz, and California Natural Resources Secretary Wade Crowfoot–and supporters, including CNPS, today near the new Chuckwalla National Monument to commemorate the day’s news, despite changes to the President’s designation plans. (President Biden originally planned to sign the monument proclamations today, but dangerous winds forced the Administration to reschedule for a White House signing next week.)
“We all acknowledge that these are first and foremost ancestral lands of California Native American Tribes,” said Secretary Wade Crowfoot. “We would not be here today without the steadfastness and perserverence of our Tribal leaders.”
“I’m proud to have played my part but only because there are many many people who have been advocating and organizing for this for years and in some cases decades…For me it hasn’t just been the Tribal input that is so critical in these decisions and the Tribal consultation, that has not always been sufficient, but to know that we are in a new era of co-management and co-stewardship agreements of our public lands,” said Senator Alex Padilla later in the event, adding that the widespread consensus in support of the monuments is “how we know these will stand the test of time.”
In addition to opportunities for Tribal co-stewardship, the monument designations create multiple benefits for California, including boosts to local economies, access to nature, protection of important water sources, and the safeguarding of biodiversity. Northeast of Mt. Shasta, the new Sáttítla Highlands National Monument is home to more than 450 types of native plants, including 19 special status species like the threatened whitebark pine (Pinus albicaulis) and the rare talus collomia (Collomia larsenii), for which Sáttítla’s exposed lava flows provide one of only two places in California where the talus collomia grows naturally. Just south of Joshua Tree National Park, Chuckwalla National Monument now establishes the largest corridor of protected lands in the continental United States stretching 600 miles, according to the White House announcement.
The Chuckwalla designation is important for sensitive desert ecosystems like the microphyll woodlands found in the Chuckwalla Valley Dune Thicket and nearly 60 rare plant species. Noteworthy plants in the new monument include the Munz’s cholla (Cylindropuntia munzii), which can grow up to 13 feet tall, the Chuckwalla cholla (Cylindropuntia chuckwallensis), and a hidden stand of more than 60 native California fan palms (Washingtonia filifera), the state’s only native palm tree, deep in the Chuckwalla Mountains.
“The California Native Plant Society is thrilled and grateful to see these national monument designations, which have received overwhelming community support, give rare plant species a fighting chance for survival, and honor knowledges held by the land’s original stewards since time immemorial,” said CNPS Executive Director Dr. Jun Bando. “California faces the highest risks for species extinction in the nation, and habitat loss is the leading cause. Protecting intact habitat, like Chuckwalla and Sáttítla, is essential to stopping the extinction crisis and avoiding the worst impacts of climate change.”
CNPS, with local chapters near monument locations, has been a strong supporter and scientific voice on behalf of California national monument campaigns, which include last spring’s expansions of Berryessa Snow Mountain and the San Gabriel Mountains national monuments.
