Natasha Blakely, natasha.blakely@sierraclub.org
WASHINGTON, DC – This weekend, reports emerged that Donald Trump is planning to take action to eliminate two national monuments in California, the first step in giving away more than 800,000 acres of fragile and sacred forest and desert landscapes to billionaires and corporate polluters.
The White House confirmed to media outlets Saturday afternoon that Trump would rescind two presidential proclamations declaring Chuckwalla and Sáttítla Highlands national monuments, though no concrete steps have been taken and the White House removed mentions of this elimination from a fact sheet released late Friday.
This move seeks to erase years of efforts by Tribal Nations and local communities to safeguard natural and cultural landscapes in the southern California Desert and northern California national forests. Both monuments were established in January 2025, with significant local and statewide support. He also rescinded a previous executive order that promoted federal agency co-stewardship with Tribal Nations, a key component of the original national monument proclamations.
This is not the first time Trump has sought to single-handedly dismantle national monuments. During his first term, Trump attempted to slash the size of Bears Ears and Grand-Staircase-Escalante national monuments in Utah to a fraction of their declared areas. These actions were swiftly reversed by his successor. The Antiquities Act of 1906, which gives presidents the authority to declare national monuments, does not include any mechanism for reversing previous proclamations.
In response, Sierra Club Executive Director Ben Jealous released the following statement:
“Donald Trump is once again attempting to gift-wrap America’s protected special and sacred spaces for corporate polluters to destroy them. These lands are shared by us all, and we will use every tool at our disposal to stop Trump and his campaign donors from turning these special places into a polluters’ paradise. Let us be clear: Donald Trump will not get away with this. Together with Tribal Nations, we fought and defeated Trump’s attacks on our public lands in his first term, and we are ready to do so once again.”
In response, Mary Lunetta, Sierra Club’s California Conservation Strategist, said:
“Destroying protections for Chuckwalla and Sáttítla Highlands to benefit industrial interests could jeopardize California’s water supply, undermine a thriving local outdoor recreation economy, and put hundreds of sensitive plant and wildlife species at risk. This reckless action completely disregards the years of dedicated Tribal and community collaboration that led to the widely supported protection of these lands just weeks ago. We’re prepared to stand beside Tribal Nations to protect these cornerstones of California ecological heritage and Tribal cultural sovereignty.”
About the Sierra Club
The Sierra Club is America’s largest and most influential grassroots environmental organization, with millions of members and supporters. In addition to protecting every person's right to get outdoors and access the healing power of nature, the Sierra Club works to promote clean energy, safeguard the health of our communities, protect wildlife, and preserve our remaining wild places through grassroots activism, public education, lobbying, and legal action. For more information, visit www.sierraclub.org.