In Southern California, a legal fight is brewing between environmentalists, Native Americans, and mining interests — and it’s all happening on one of America’s newest public land areas, Chuckwalla National Monument. The outcome of this lawsuit will touch at the core of the federal government’s ability to designate and preserve public lands.
What Is Chuckwalla National Monument?
This 740,000-acre area comprises five distinct land parcels near Palm Springs and Riverside, Calif., bordering Joshua Tree National Park. Located at the intersection of the Mojave and Sonoran deserts, this mountainous region is home to many rare and endangered species, including the desert tortoise and the desert pupfish.
It is also the site of centuries-old petroglyphs and pictographs. It also contains culturally significant sites for multiple Native American Tribes, including the Torres Martinez Desert Cahuilla Indians, the Fort Yuma Quechan Indian Tribe, the Chemeheuvi Indian Tribe, the Colorado River Indian Tribes, and the Morongo Band of Mission Indians. These Tribes advocated for a national monument designation.
President Biden declared it a national monument in the final days of his presidency, on Jan. 14, 2025. Roughly 84%, or 624,720 acres, of the area is public land. It is co-managed by the BLM and an intertribal commission.
“Protecting the Chuckwalla region will preserve an important spiritual, cultural, prehistoric, and historic legacy and protect places inscribed with history for future generations; maintain a diverse array of natural and scientific resources; and help ensure that the prehistoric, historic, and scientific resources and values of the region endure for the benefit of all Americans,” the establishment record read.
The Lawsuit
On May 1, 2025, Daniel Torongo, with support from Blue Ribbon Coalition (BRC), a recreation access group, and Mountain States Legal Foundation (MSLF), filed suit against the Department of the Interior. Torongo’s family has mining claims in the area that became the national monument, and he was planning on pursuing mining.
According to MSLF, Biden’s declaration nixed his plans. “Maintaining his claim is suddenly uncertain and more expensive. Expanding it is impossible. With no vote, no hearing, and no warning, the federal government slammed the door shut on a way of life,” MSLF said in a press release. Torongo and these groups are aiming to overturn Biden’s declaration.
The legal question in the case hinges on the Antiquities Act of 1906. The law enables the president to declare “historic landmarks, historic and prehistoric structures, and other objects of historic or scientific interest that are situated upon the lands owned or controlled by the Government of the United States to be national monuments.”
Critically, the land chosen “shall be confined to the smallest area compatible with the proper care and management of the objects to be protected.”
MSLF argues that the land Biden designated doesn’t fall under any of these umbrellas. “Chuckwalla isn’t a ruin. It’s not a site. It’s a sprawling region that the government claims might contain objects or future discoveries. That’s not lawful under the Antiquities Act. In fact, it stretches the law so far beyond its purpose that it turns a protective statute into a blank check for land grabs,” it explained.
Tribal Intervention
On March 4, the District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan ruled that five Native American Tribes have the right to intervene in the case. In other words, even though they weren’t part of the original suit, these Tribes can join the case because they have a direct interest in the outcome.
“An important part of the national monument designation at Chuckwalla is that it recognizes the role of Indigenous people in land management. The monument’s Tribal Commission brings Native voices to the table and recognizes the value of knowledge that we have passed down from generation to generation,” President Jonathan E. Koteen of the Fort Yuma Quechan Indian Tribe said in a press release.
“Tribal Nations led the efforts to protect Chuckwalla National Monument. We have unique interests in this landscape. It is part of our ancestral home, and it is a cultural and religious place that we have spent years working to protect and continue to maintain. We deserve to be heard in the Torongo case,” added Chairwoman Amelia Flores of the Colorado River Indian Tribes.
Nonprofit Right to Intervene
In that same decision, the judge ruled that nine environmental nonprofits also had the right to intervene. The organizations include CactusToCloud Institute, California Native Plant Society, CalWild, Center for Biological Diversity, Conservation Lands Foundation, National Parks Conservation Association, Sierra Club, The Wilderness Society, and Vet Voice Foundation.
Despite the new entrants into the case, the BRC and MSLF stand firm in their lawsuit.
“The question in our case isn’t whether there are groups that support monuments. We are asking the Court to determine whether the designation of massive national monuments is an abuse of executive power. If the Five Tribal Nations want to join our case and explain why U.S. Presidents should have nearly unlimited power over federal land, we look forward to reviewing their arguments,” BRC Executive Director Ben Burr said in an email to GearJunkie.
Why It Matters
The Antiquities Act of 1906 is a key tool of presidential power when it comes to public lands. Since Congress enacted it, 17 presidents have invoked it over 150 times to designate or expand national monuments. These places range from historic sites like Stonewall to natural gems like the San Juan Islands.
A court ruling that weakens the Antiquities Act would have far-ranging consequences for future national monument designations.
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