Laura Deehan
State Director, Environment California
[email protected]
STATEMENT: Senators Padilla and Butler champion California desert monument proposal
Media Contacts
Contact:
Laura Deehan, State Director, [email protected], 415-420-4710
Jack Goodrich, Communications Associate, [email protected], 619- 345-4956
PALM SPRINGS, Calif. – U.S. Sens. Alex Padilla and Laphonza Butler joined the call to protect more nature in California’s Sonoran desert on Tuesday, announcing their support for two new national monuments. The Senators joined U.S. Rep. Raul Ruiz in calling for protections for California’s desert. The proposed Chuckwalla National Monument will preserve approximately 660,000 acres located south of Joshua Tree National Park and north of the Chocolate Mountains. A separate monument would safeguard 17,000 acres of public lands that are adjacent to Joshua Tree National Park to the east.
The California portion of the Sonoran desert, where the monuments would lie, is home to imperiled wildlife species including Chuckwalla lizards, desert tortoises, Sonoran pronghorn and more. These two new protected areas will connect wildlife habitats from Joshua Tree National Park to the Kofa National Wildlife refuge across the Arizona border, giving many species more space to migrate, hunt and find mates.
President Joe Biden has the power to designate federal public lands, waters, and cultural and historical sites as national monuments under the Antiquities Act of 1906.
In response, Environment California Research & Policy Center’s State Director Laura Deehan issued the following statement:
“Senator Padilla is a real champion for nature and he demonstrated that again today with this announcement in support of the Chuckwalla National Monument and Joshua Tree National Park expansion. In the face of biodiversity loss and climate change, California needs as much nature protected as possible for the sake of the state’s wildlife. Thanks to Sens. Padilla and Butler and Rep. Ruiz, we are now closer to protecting the home of the Chuckwalla lizard, the desert tortoise and the Sonoran pronghorn. We urge President Biden and Interior Secretary Deb Haaland to act quickly to protect the Sonoran desert.”