President Joe Biden established two new national monuments in California, totaling nearly 850,000 acres.
The Chuckwalla National Monument in Southern California near Joshua Tree National Park encompasses more than 624,000 acres, and the Sáttítla National Monument in Northern California encompasses more than 224,000 acres. Biden said the monument designations will protect clean water, honor areas of cultural significance and enhance access to nature.
The National Cattlemen’s Beef Assocation (NCBA) called the move a “reckless misuse” of the Antiquities Act. “President Biden’s unilateral action to create new monuments this late in his term shows that these monuments are politically motivated and devoid of resource planning for the future,” said NCBA Executive Director of Natural Resources and Public Lands Council Executive Director Kaitlynn Glover in a statement.
The administration highlighted that Biden has conserved more lands and waters than any president in history.
