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Biden creates 2 new national monuments in California, setting a conservation record
A chuckwalla lizard sunbathes in this 2007 photo from Amboy Crater National Natural Landmark in Southern California. The lizard is the namesake for the new Chuckwalla National Monument.
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David McNew
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Updated January 07, 2025 at 16:37 PM ET
President Biden was set to announce two new national monuments for California on Tuesday, but dangerous weather conditions in Los Angeles prevented the president from holding an event to officially make the announcement.
The president was originally set to make remarks in the eastern Coachella Valley, but the event was changed at the last minute to take place at the White House next week, so key stakeholders can attend.
Biden arrived in Los Angeles Monday night, and the Santa Ana winds picked up Tuesday, leading to wildfires in the region as well.
The creation of the two monuments preserves the lands from development and will set a record for the most land and waters conserved by any president, the White House said.
The Sáttítla Highlands National Monument covers more than 224,000 acres in Northern California and includes the ancestral homelands of the Pit River Tribe and Modoc people. A dormant volcano is at its center, and it is home to the longest-known lava tube system in the world.
The Chuckwalla National Monument covers more than 624,000 acres south of Joshua Tree National Park in Southern California and includes sacred sites important to five groups of Indigenous people and 50 rare species of plants and animals, including the chuckwalla lizard.
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The Chuckwalla monument is part of a corridor of protected lands stretching about 600 miles west through a total of close to 18 million acres in California, Nevada, Arizona and Utah that the White House is calling the Moab to Mojave Conservation Corridor.
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