Court Allows Organizations to Intervene In Lawsuit to Defend Chuckwalla National Monument
Conservation, education, veteran, and recreation groups fight to protect critical Southern California public lands in Chuckwalla National Monument
Contacts
Miranda Fox, Earthjustice, mfox@earthjustice.org
On Tuesday, a district court judge approved nine organizations’ request to intervene in a lawsuit to defend California’s Chuckwalla National Monument. These groups range from Coachella Valley-based, to state-wide and national groups, and all have interests and expertise in the monument’s designation and protection. Tribal Nations including the Ft. Yuma Quechan Indian Tribe, Torres Martinez Desert Cahuilla Indians, and three other Tribal Nations have also joined as parties to the case.
The lawsuit seeks to undo the designation of the monument, established in January 2025. It was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan by an Idaho-based motorized recreation special interest group, Blue Ribbon Coalition, and an individual miner from Michigan, against the U.S. Department of Interior. These plaintiffs are represented by the Texas Public Policy Foundation and Mountain States Legal Foundation. The monument is located on desert lands managed by the Bureau of Land Management in California’s Riverside and Imperial Counties.
The organizations intervening spent years carefully vetting boundaries and collaborating with a broad coalition to identify and document Chuckwalla’s unique tribal resources and values worthy of monument-level protections. The monument benefits local economies, protects lands significant to 13 Tribal Nations, ensures equitable access and outdoor recreation (including camping, picnicking, driving off-highway vehicles, hunting and more) and safeguards numerous historical, scientific, and ecological values. The monument designation was called for and celebrated by local Tribes, local and state governments, state and federal elected officials, veterans, 300+ businesses, business groups and Chambers of Commerce, 370+ scientists and residents of surrounding communities.
Democrats and Republicans have used the Antiquities Act to designate monuments for more than 100 years. The Supreme Court, a century ago and other courts in the decades since, have consistently upheld the president’s authority to determine whether and how much area to protect. Lands protected as National Monuments have included important stretches of public lands in California like Joshua Tree and Death Valley, which were designated as National Monuments in the 1930s by presidential proclamation.
The intervening organizations include CactusToCloud Institute, California Native Plant Society, CalWild, Center for Biological Diversity, Conservation Lands Foundation, the National Parks Conservation Association, Sierra Club, Vet Voice Foundation, and The Wilderness Society. They are represented by Earthjustice and the Law Offices of Joseph Lavigne.
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