Protecting the planet for future generations is one of the most powerful legacies we can leave in our lifetime. Safeguarding natural, cultural, and historic landscapes helps ensure everyone's history and connections to U.S. lands are honored and celebrated and provides opportunities to enjoy access to these wondrous places.
Thanks to years of advocacy by local communities and over 30,000 Sierra Club supporters like you, we won more protections for public lands with the designation of Chuckwalla and Sáttítla Highlands National Monuments. These designations are significant wins for communities across the state on numerous levels. Communities will now have closer access to the outdoors and the opportunity to deepen their connection with nature and learn the value of conservation. The designations also bring the state closer to one of its primary climate-resilience goals -- conserving 30% of California's land and water by 2030 - which will help mitigate some of the worst impacts of climate change.
This announcement is key for protecting some of our most biodiverse areas in the state and advancing more equitable land management practices and access for communities. In Northern California, Sáttítla Highlands National Monument preserves over 224,000 acres of culturally significant and ecologically rich lands within the Shasta-Trinity, Klamath, and Modoc National Forests in Northern California -- protecting sacred areas for the Pit River Nation and other Tribal communities. In Southern California, the designation safeguards over 624,000 acres of desert landscape from the ongoing threat of harmful development, ensuring the resilience of iconic and endangered species like desert bighorn sheep, desert tortoise, and the namesake, chuckwalla lizard.
Send your final thank you message to the Biden Administration for their environmental leadership!