Biden creates 2 vast national monuments during final week in office

Lila Seidman, Los Angeles Times on Jan 14, 2025

By clicking submit, I authorize Arcamax and its affiliates to: (1) use, sell, and share my information for marketing purposes, including cross-context behavioral advertising, as described in our Privacy Policy , (2) add to information that I provide with other information like interests inferred from web page views, or data lawfully obtained from data brokers, such as past purchase or location data, or publicly available data, (3) contact me or enable others to contact me by email or other means with offers for different types of goods and services, and (4) retain my information while I am engaging with marketing messages that I receive and for a reasonable amount of time thereafter. I understand I can opt out at any time through an email that I receive, or by clicking here

President Joe Biden on Tuesday created two new vast national monuments in California’s desert and far north that protect lands considered sacred by tribes, bolstering his conservation legacy days before leaving office.

Biden signed proclamations establishing the 624,000-acre Chuckwalla National Monument south of Joshua Tree National Park in Southern California, and the Sáttítla Highlands National Monument, spanning more than 224,000 acres of pristine forests and unique geological features near the Oregon border.

“Our natural wonders are the heart and soul of our nation,” Biden said during remarks at the White House. “They unite us. They inspire us.”

Biden said he and his wife, Jill, have made it a tradition to take their children and grandchildren to visit national parks and monuments every year.

He said he wanted them to “see, feel, smell, taste, look at” what had been preserved, and that he thought of former President Theodore Roosevelt and others who had moved to protect the land.

“Imagine had they not acted,” he said.

Proponents say the new monuments will protect a plethora of vulnerable wildlife and culturally significant sites while staving off development and resource extraction — including of clean energy. Native American tribes led the push to safeguard the land.

The signing came one week after the president canceled a trip to make the designations in a picturesque canyon in Chuckwalla because of furious winds that fanned fires in Los Angeles County.

Biden said he was working closely with California Gov. Gavin Newsom and representatives for the state “to make sure California has every possible resource to fight these fires and help the survivors.”

He added that the disaster is a reminder that “this is not about blue states and red states, not about conservatives and liberals. It’s about the United States of America.”

The new monuments protect a combined 848,000 acres of lands in California. With the new proclamations, Biden will have designated 10 national monuments using his executive authority under the Antiquities Act and has enlarged or modified several more, including expanding two in the Golden State.

He also will have protected more land and waters than any president in history, according to the White House. Last week, Biden took action to protect the East and West coasts and Alaska’s Northern Bering Sea from offshore oil and natural gas drilling.

Supporters of the new monuments had pressed Biden to create them before Trump takes office Monday. Trump downsized monuments in the West during his first term, and a far-right contingent has called for abolishing the Antiquities Act, the 1906 law that allows presidents to designate national monuments.

Biden was joined at Tuesday’s signing event by Interior Secretary Deb Haaland, the first Native American to serve as a Cabinet secretary.

She said that when she and the president stepped into their roles, they “understood fundamentally that tribes must be at the forefront of our efforts to conserve the lands and waters we all depend on.

“I’m grateful he has listened to tribes and local communities across the country, and has committed our administration to conserving the places that are core to our identities and to our shared experiences,” she said of Biden.

Opponents of the newest monuments, including small-scale miners, off-road enthusiasts and some local representatives, fear the designations will stifle recreation as well as economic and energy opportunities. Detractors believe Biden has misused his executive power and hope the incoming administration will roll back the president’s actions.

_____

(Times staff writer Alex Wigglesworth contributed to this report.)

_____