LOS ANGELES (AP) 鈥� President is establishing two new national monuments in California that will honor Native American tribes, the White House confirmed Tuesday, as Biden seeks to conserve at least 30% of U.S. lands and waters by 2030 through his 鈥淎merica the Beautiful鈥� initiative.
Proclamations set to be signed Tuesday will create the Chuckwalla National Monument in Southern California near Joshua Tree National Park and the S谩tt铆tla National Monument in Northern California. The declarations bar drilling and mining and other development on the 624,000-acre (2,400-square-kilometer) Chuckwalla site and roughly 225,000 acres (800 square kilometers) near the Oregon border in Northern California.
The will protect clean water for communities, honor areas of cultural significance to tribal nations and Indigenous peoples, and enhance access to nature, the White House said.
Biden, who has two weeks left in office, is set to visit Los Angeles and the Eastern Coachella Valley on Tuesday after meeting Monday with the in New Orleans.
Biden announced Monday he will including in California and other West Coast states. The plan is intended to block possible efforts by the incoming Trump administration to expand offshore drilling.
The flurry of activity has been in line with the Democratic president鈥檚 鈥淎merica the Beautiful鈥� initiative launched in 2021, aimed at honoring tribal heritage, meeting to conserve 30% of public lands and waters by 2030 and addressing climate change.
The Pit River Tribe has worked to get the federal government to designate the S谩tt铆tla National Monument. The area is a spiritual center for the Pit River and Modoc Tribes and encompasses mountain woodlands and meadows that are home to rare flowers and wildlife.
A number of Native American tribes and environmental groups began pushing Biden to designate the Chuckwalla National Monument, named after the large desert lizard, in early 2023. The monument would protect public lands south of Joshua Tree National Park, spanning the Coachella Valley region in the west to near the Colorado River.
Advocates say the monument will protect a tribal cultural landscape, ensure access to nature for local residents and preserve military history sites.
鈥淭he designation of the Chuckwalla and S谩tt铆tla National Monuments in California marks an historic step toward protecting lands of profound cultural, ecological and historical significance for all Americans," said Carrie Besnette Hauser, president and CEO of the nonprofit Trust for Public Land.
The new monuments 鈥渉onor the enduring stewardship of Tribal Nations and the tireless efforts of local communities and conservation advocates who fought to safeguard these irreplaceable landscapes for future generations,'' Hauser said.
National monuments like Chuckwalla and S谩tt铆tla play a key role in addressing historical injustices and ensuring a more inclusive telling of America鈥檚 history, she said.
The Chuckwalla monument is intended to honor tribal sovereignty by including local tribes as co-stewards, following in the footsteps of a recent wave of monuments such as the Bears Ears National Monument in Utah, which is with five tribal nations.
鈥淭he protection of the Chuckwalla National Monument brings the Quechan people an overwhelming sense of peace and joy,鈥� the Fort Yuma Quechan Tribe said in a statement. 鈥淭ribes 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.鈥�
In May, the Biden administration in California 鈥� the San Gabriel Mountains in the south and Berryessa Snow Mountain in the north. In October, Biden along the coast of central California, which will include input from the local Chumash tribes in how the area is preserved.
Last year, the Yurok Tribe in Northern California also became the with the National Park Service under a historic memorandum of understanding signed by the tribe, Redwood National and State Parks and the nonprofit Save the Redwoods League, which is conveying the land to the tribe.
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Daly reported from Washington. Associated Press writers Jaimie Ding in Los Angeles and Zeke Miller in Washington contributed to this report.
Colleen Long And Matthew Daly, The Associated Press
