Tell President Biden: Establish Chuckwalla National Monument and Expand Joshua Tree National Park

Our California deserts need your help! California desert communities and ecosystems are at risk due to the ongoing climate crisis and harmful development leading to loss of nature.

As our desert lands continue to be overdeveloped, we are losing nature and releasing carbon stored underground for millennia. All of this is accelerating the impacts of climate change and pollution in our communities, and disconnecting people from the benefits of nature.

Desert communities are already being squeezed by the climate crisis, air pollution, and overdevelopment with more expected challenges to come, as more mega-warehouses are built in the region which brings in an influx of transportation pollution from shipments around the communities. Low-income communities and communities of color are most at risk for developing long-term health impacts from this, like asthma and cancer.

Loss of nature also harms the expansive desert biodiversity. The region’s ecosystem is home to an important habitat that approximately 95% of birds use along the Pacific flyway, making this area a migratory stopover. This desert is also home to many endangered species including the desert bighorn sheep, desert tortoise, and the chuckwalla lizard.

Right now, we have a chance to join local voices from desert communities to ask President Biden to designate the protection of these lands bringing benefits to both communities and wildlife. We can fight to secure protections for the 677,000 acres of desert land ranging from the Coachella Valley region to the Colorado River. This land is right next to the Joshua Tree National Park and protecting it will not only expand the park’s boundaries but protect important nature surrounding it.

Help us get President Biden’s attention and make this proposed national monument a reality.

Take action today -- Ask President Biden to designate Chuckwalla National Monument and expand Joshua Tree National Park!

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Designate Chuckwalla National Monument and Expand Joshua Tree National Park

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On behalf of our members and supporters, the undersigned thank you for your actions to protect critical areas that are important for wildlife habitat, indigenous history and culture, outdoor recreation and fighting the climate crisis. From restoring Bears Ears and Grand Staircase Escalante to designating five new monuments, we applaud your commitment to permanent protections for our country's most valuable places. We urge you to consider the proposal from the tribes and communities of the Coachella Valley in California to designate Chuckwalla National Monument and to expand Joshua Tree National Park by designating a monument to the east of the park. This proposal would protect approximately 677,000 acres of important land. This region is incredibly rich in biodiversity and species that would benefit from the protection of these lands include Chuckwalla lizards, desert tortoises, bighorn sheep, Sonoran pronghorns and migratory birds. Currently, there are "islands" of protected public lands in this region, including Joshua Tree National Park and designated wilderness areas. The proposed national monument and Joshua Tree National Park expansion would connect these "islands" and safeguard core habitat areas and habitat linkages. This is critical for survival of native species in the face of climate change-related habitat loss, warming temperatures and increased drought. Lands within the proposed national monument are the traditional homeland of the Iviatim, Nüwü, Pipa Aha Macav, Kwatsáan and Maara'yam peoples (Cahuilla, Chemehuevi, Mojave, Quechan, and Serrano nations). We urge you to support and act upon requests for co-stewardship from tribal nations, who have been the stewards of this area since time immemorial. Already, these lands are beloved for outdoor recreation activities like hiking, picnicking, stargazing, and recreational off-highway vehicle (OHV) touring on legally authorized routes. Permanently protecting these lands is an opportunity to ensure that these places are here for current and future generations of Coachella Valley residents and visitors to experience and enjoy. The Chuckwalla National Monument would be the largest protected area of the Colorado Desert bioregion, which is a unique climate and biological community in the California Desert. Desert lands are scientifically recognized as significant carbon sinks, capturing and storing carbon emissions underground for thousands of years. The California Desert region, spanning Riverside and surrounding counties, holds about 10% of the state's sequestered carbon that has been captured and stored over millennia in undisturbed soils. Permanently protecting desert lands from development and other disturbances can help these carbon reserves remain in the ground and out of the atmosphere. Finally, the proposed Chuckwalla National Monument would honor the region's military history by protecting areas that were used for training U.S. soldiers for battle in World War II. It would also protect about 40 miles of the historic Bradshaw Trail National Back Country Byway. Originally used by Indigenous communities, the trail became a link between Arizona gold mine camps and the California coast in the 1860s. The area also holds approximately 35 miles of the route of the historic Eagle Mountain Railroad. This area is threatened by looming development, irresponsible recreation and the impacts of climate change. We urge you to move swiftly in considering this proposal and to use your powers granted by the Antiquities Act to permanently protect these areas.

By taking this action to protect the planet, you are affirming you want to receive regular Sierra Club communications and may vote on policy designated by the Sierra Club Board. Additionally, by giving your mobile number, you consent to receive phone and text communications from Sierra Club organizations.

Photo by Kyle Sullivan, BLM | Image of a toddler and woman standing in desert land with scatted yellow and purple flowers