Biden officially designates 2 new monuments in California

President Biden has officially designated two new national monuments in California.

The White House announced last week that Biden would designate the Chuckwalla National Monument and the Sáttítla Highlands National Monument — protecting a combined 848,000 acres of particular significance to Native American tribes in the region.

However, the designations were postponed until this week. 

Biden delivered his remarks from the White House as fires rage in the Los Angeles area. 

The 624,000-acre Chuckwalla National Monument in Southern California will be located at the meeting of the Mojave and Colorado deserts and will include mountain ranges, rock formations, woodlands and canyons, including the Painted Canyon, which is known for its colorful walls. 

The 224,000-acre Sáttítla Highlands National Monument is in Northern California and features the dormant Medicine Lake Volcano.

Biden, in a speech ahead of the monument proclamations, said: “Our outdoor treasures are the pride of our country, the bond between the physical and spiritual world, a bridge to our past and to our future.”

“Conserving them not only protects the livelihoods of people who depend on them. It preserves a key piece of our history and the full American story,” he added.