Biden delivers more environmental wins as term comes to an end

President Joe Biden is continuing his Trump-proofing efforts, this time by using the Antiquities Act of 1906 to protect a large area of land in Southern California. This move will safeguard 848,000 acres of land, provide clean water for 40 million people, protect wildlife, honor numerous tribal nations, and provide outdoor recreation for “historically underserved communities in the Coachella Valley.” 

With less than two weeks left in his presidency, he signed two new national monuments into law, naming them the Chuckwalla and Sáttítla National Monuments, a nod to sacred tribal land in the California desert.

On Tuesday, Biden walked the site and delivered remarks in the Eastern Coachella Valley alongside California Gov. Gavin Newsom.

“The new monument will protect the ancestral homelands and cultural landscapes of the Cahuilla, Chemehuevi, Mojave, Quechan, and Serrano Nations, and other Indigenous peoples,” a White House briefing said. “The monument boundary includes five distinct areas that together encompass sacred sites, ancient trails, historic properties, cultural areas, religious sites, petroglyphs, geoglyphs, and pictographs, honoring and safeguarding the cultural and spiritual value inherent with these lands.”

This follows an April letter written to Biden from Democratic Sens. Alex Padilla and Adam Schiff, former Sen. Laphonza Butler, and Rep. Raul Ruiz that urged him to sign the monuments into law.

Following the announcement on Tuesday, Padilla applauded Biden’s achievement in protecting public land. 

“This historic announcement accelerates our state’s crucial efforts to fight the climate crisis, protect our iconic wildlife, preserve sacred tribal sites, and promote clean energy, while expanding equitable access to nature for millions of Californians,” Padilla wrote in a statement. “This designation reflects years of tireless work from tribal leaders to protect these sacred desert landscapes. President Biden has joined California leaders in championing our treasured natural wonders, and I applaud him for further cementing his strong public lands legacy.”

The Antiquities Act was signed into law by former President Teddy Roosevelt to protect archeological, historical, cultural, and natural resources by implementing a permitting process and ensuring that any resulting collections went to educational institutions. 

In addition to creating a legacy of climate and natural land protections, Biden is spending his final weeks in the White House implementing an offshore drilling ban, banning medical debt from appearing on credit scores, granting commutations to incarcerated people on death row, and signing a record number of single-day pardons.

“Today’s monument designation is the latest way that the Biden-Harris Administration is showing how conservation and clean energy can go hand in hand,” the White House statement said.

Biden’s communications team laid out his final plan in December, stating that he would “continue taking action to protect our lands and waters and continue our climate ambition alongside state, local, tribal, and business leaders.”

And he’s done just that.