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What is a national monument? And how do presidents create them?
Explore the evolution of national monuments in the United States and how presidents have used their authority to designate and protect these significant sites.
Northern California tribal leaders and community activists celebrated President Joe Biden’s creation of Sáttítla Highlands National Monument, a move that had been highly anticipated since last fall.
Tuesday’s announcement affirms the placement of 224,000 acres of land and its water resources in the Shasta-Trinity, Klamath and Modoc national forests under federal protection. The Pit River Nation was an early advocate of preserving the cultural and spiritual significance of the public lands, which lie east of Mt. Shasta.
Sáttítla is also known as the Medicine Lake Highlands. The land in Siskiyou County is on the National Register of Historic Places as a Traditional Cultural District.
Biden also on Tuesday signed a proclamation for Chuckwalla National Monument in the California desert. All told, between the two monuments they take in 848,000 acres of “scientific, cultural, ecological, and historical importance,” the White House said.
Biden’s planned visit to eastern Coachella Valley on Tuesday to designate Chuckwalla and Sáttítla had to be canceled due to high winds in Southern California. The event will be rescheduled at the White House next week before Biden leaves office.
Whether President-elect Donald Trump will seek a review of the monuments after he takes office on Jan. 20 is unknown.
The 113,000-acre Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument, which straddles the border of California and Oregon, was on a list of 26 national monuments that came under review during Trump’s first presidency in 2017.
Some feared the Trump Administration would eliminate or reduce the size of the Cascade-Siskiyou monument, but no changes were made.
Here is how the Biden Administration’s proclamations were received by supporters and opponents of the new monuments.
Pit River Chairman Yatch Bamford said the voices of his tribal nation’s ancestors were heard, and the announcement was a “powerful step toward a future built on respect, reconciliation, and shared stewardship.”
“Sáttítla Highlands National Monument is a victory not just for Tribal Nations but for every American who understands the value of clean water, healthy lands, and preserving the true history of these United States of America. These designations demonstrate what is possible when we center Indigenous leadership and honor the deep connections between Tribes and their homelands,” read part of a statement Bamford released.
Chairman Jack Potter said the Redding Rancheria supported all tribes working to protect their lands.
“Tribes revere our lands as historic places of learning and sacred practice. Just as other American cultures might seek to protect a historic church or university, tribal communities wish to preserve our culture by protecting the sacred land where we learn, heal, gather medicine, and honor The Creator,” Potter said in his statement.
Casey Glaubman, Mount Shasta City councilmember and executive director of the Friends of the Mount Shasta Avalanche Center, expressed support for the monument’s creation in a news release.
“This new designation will ensure that these treasured public lands will endure for future generations,” Glaubman said.
California lawmakers also spoke out in support and in opposition.
Democratic U.S. Sen. Alex Padilla said the monument designation will preserve the area’s “sacred and ecological benefits” for future generations.
U.S. Rep. Doug LaMalfa, R-Richvale, expressed concern with the White House’s decision. Like in 2017, he said it was a misuse of the Antiquities Act to bypass Congress. He said the monument should be scaled down or reversed later in January, presumably when Trump takes office.
LaMalfa maintains the monument will add more federal rules that will create challenges to manage the land, especially in wildfire prevention, and for public use.
“Medicine Lake holds significant cultural and recreational value, and it’s crucial that any designations do not hinder the ability to manage these lands effectively or limit usage for those who rely on them, including for hunting, fishing, snowmobiling, off road vehicle use, and fire mitigation,” read a statement the Republican lawmaker released.
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Publish date : 2025-01-08 03:14:00
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