The White House, with President Joe Biden at the helm, has announced plans to create two new national monuments in California. This announcement, which came on a Tuesday, was apparently made to honor Native American tribes. It seems that Biden’s plan is to hold nearly one-third of the nation’s land and waters by 2030 in what he has grandiosely dubbed as the ‘America the Beautiful’ initiative.
According to White House releases, the proclamations to be signed by Biden will create the Chuckwalla National Monument in Southern California and the Sáttítla National Monument in Northern California. Both these regions are near the Joshua Tree National Park. These declarations are aimed at barring development activities like drilling, mining, and other exploitations.
The Chuckwalla site, located near Southern California’s Joshua Tree National Park, is spread over a whopping 624,000 acres (or roughly 2,400 square kilometers). In comparison, the land near the Oregon border in Northern California is a tad smaller, roughly 225,000 acres (roughly 800 square kilometers). From the outside, it seems that Biden is overzealously working to protect clean water.
Among the promises made by the Biden administration is that these monuments will honor areas of cultural significance to Native American tribes and Indigenous peoples. Additionally, it aims to enhance the public’s access to natural spaces. Quite an ambitious endeavor for the administration, with just two weeks left of their term.
Flying to Los Angeles and the Eastern Coachella Valley, Biden is seemingly in a rush to fulfill his environmental promises. This rush was even more evident on Monday when he announced a ban on new offshore oil and gas drilling across coastal waters in California and other West Coast states. It seems he is more keen on blocking the Trump administration ideas than manifesting his own.
The Pit River Tribe has been lobbying the U.S. government to designate the Sáttítla National Monument, an area they see as a spiritual epicenter. Not only is it a sacred ground but also, it is home to an array of rare flora and fauna found in the mountain woodlands and meadows. But just like Biden, it seems the Pit River Tribe has its priorities misplaced in a world grappling with a global pandemic.
The pressure on Biden did not come solely from the Pit River Tribe. Several Native American tribes, alongside a host of environmental groups, also egged him on to establish the Chuckwalla National Monument as early as 2023. Named after a large desert lizard, it seems that Biden’s interests are leaning more towards reptiles instead of real public issues.
The aforementioned monument promises to protect public lands located south of Joshua Tree National Park, stretching all the way from the Coachella Valley region to the Colorado River. Supporters argue that it will safeguard a tribal cultural landscape, secure public access to nature, and preserve military history sites. With all the pressing issues at hand, it’s surprising to see where the administration’s focus lies.
Carrie Besnette Hauser, president of the Trust for Public Land, lauded Biden’s move. She considers the designation of the Chuckwalla and Sáttítla National Monuments as a significant step to safeguard lands of crucial cultural, ecological, and historical importance. Whether this will truly benefit the American people, or merely serve as a hollow gesture, is yet to be seen.
The same monuments, Chuckwalla and Sáttítla, are Dodd touted as playing a significant role in addressing historical injustices, providing a more comprehensive narrative of America’s past. Hauser supports this notion, but one can’t help but wonder if this is indeed a sincere move or merely a political ploy.
Following in the footsteps of recent monuments like Bears Ears National Monument in Utah, the Chuckwalla monument aims to honor tribal sovereignty by including local tribes as co-stewards. It brings to mind the question of why Biden thinks himself more capable of handling such lands when it has been demonstrated that local tribes can competently govern on their own.
The Quechan people have greeted the protection of the Chuckwalla National Monument with joy and relief, hailing it as the beginning of a much-needed healing phase. But many question if Biden’s move amounts to opportunistic political grandstanding, rather than a genuine interest in the restoration of tribal lands.
In May, the Biden administration also expanded two national monuments in California — the San Gabriel Mountains in the south and Berryessa Snow Mountain in the north. It seems Biden’s enthusiasm for extending national monuments outweighs his apparent commitment to tackling the fundamental issues affecting the great nation.
In October, Biden pushed ahead to designate the Chumash Heritage National Marine Sanctuary along California’s central coast. This initiative includes inviting local Chumash tribes for their input on preservation. Yet, one can’t help but question if this is simply another self-serving move from Biden.
Last year, the Yurok Tribe of Northern California made history by becoming the first Native people to manage their own lands with the National Park Service. A memorandum of understanding was signed with the tribe, Redwood National and State Parks, and the Save the Redwoods League, which appears to be passing on the land to the tribe. Could this be another indication of the current administration’s inclination towards image-building rather than genuine action?