Friend — we’ve gotten word that the Biden administration is considering taking action to protect hundreds of thousands of acres of public land… and that a decision could come down soon.

It’s crucial that the White House hear from you right now.

The proposed Chuckwalla National Monument spans more than 600,000 acres reaching west from the Coachella Valley region to the east near the Colorado River. This effort also proposes to protect approximately 17,000 acres of public lands adjacent to the east side of Joshua Tree National Park.

These crucial lands contain fragile desert ecosystems and are home to wildlife such as the chuckwalla lizard, bighorn sheep, and desert tortoise.

A monument designation would protect the homelands of the Iviatim, Nüwü, Pipa Aha Macav, Kwatsáan and Maara’yam peoples. This is a living landscape with interconnected cultural, natural, and spiritual significance, which sustains the well-being and survival of Indigenous people of the region. The proposed monument would preserve this cultural landscape by providing protections to important heritage 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, plants, and wildlife. These cultural, natural, and spiritual resources are essential to the welfare of regionally-affiliated Indigenous peoples.

We need your help to reach 3,000 signatures from environmentalists demanding that President Biden take action to designate Chuckwalla National Monument. Please take action today — it only takes a minute to make a real difference >>

After President Biden took office, he set a major goal of protecting 30% of U.S. lands and waters by 2030. Achieving the goal known as 30x30 — which has been a major focus of LCV’s work over the last three years — would mean doubling land conservation in our country. Scientists say it’s absolutely essential to getting climate change under control and preventing mass wildlife extinctions.

The Biden administration is protecting our public lands and waters at a historic rate — protecting the most acres of public lands as national monuments in their first term than any president in the 21st century. In 2023 alone, President Biden protected more than 12.5 million acres of public lands, including sacred and ecologically significant lands like Baaj Nwaavjo I’tah Kukveni – Ancestral Footprints of the Grand Canyon National Monument in Arizona and Avi Kwa Ame National Monument in Nevada. Let’s keep going!

Friend, we can’t miss this chance to protect one of our nation’s precious landscapes, preserve biodiversity, honor sacred homelands, and expand access to public lands to more communities.

But it will only happen if people like you speak up — please join us in calling on President Biden to designate Chuckwalla National Monument and make history today >>

Thank you for making your voice heard, Friend.

Onward,

America Fitzpatrick
Conservation Program Director
League of Conservation Voters