In February, with the stroke of his pen and the authority granted under the 1906 Antiquities Act, President Obama created three new national monuments in the California desert.  

Together, the new monuments protect 1.8 million acres of sweeping desert landscapes, dozens of sensitive species and thousands of cultural heritage sites, while providing an array of recreational activities. Notable features of the national monuments include the tallest mountain peak in southern California, stretches of historic Route 66, a fossil bed site, a towering volcanic cinder cone, and a dense high-desert Joshua tree forest. Two of the monuments are near the Los Angeles metropolitan area; the third is located at the California-Nevada border, an hour’s drive from Las Vegas.  

The presidential declaration mandates that each monument, consisting of land already owned by the federal government, be given a higher protective status and be managed with the over-arching goal of preserving and protecting it for generations to come. All current use of the land — existing mining operations, recreational off-road travel, utility corridors and military training drills — continue to be allowed in these areas now defined as national monuments. The monuments will be managed by the U.S. Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and National Park Service (NPS).

The Secretary of the Department of the Interior, Sally Jewell, lauded the creation of the Sand to Snow, Mojave Trails and Castle Mountains national monuments, saying, “The California desert is a cherished and irreplaceable resource for the people of southern California. It is an oasis of nature’s quiet beauty just outside two of our nation’s largest metropolitan areas. Its historic and cultural resources tell the stories of armies, travelers, ranchers and miners, and of the original caretakers of this land. [The] designation by the President furthers the longstanding work of public land managers and local communities to ensure these areas will remain preserved and accessible to the public for future generations.”

Secretary Jewell also commended the long-standing leadership of California Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D), whose more than two-decades long vision, established with the passage of the California Desert Protection Act of 1994, has been completed with the addition of these new national monuments. The act created Joshua Tree and Death Valley National Parks as well as the Mojave National Preserve. The newest national monuments fill in important landscapes in the California desert and interconnect with the parks and preserves created in the 90s.  

During the past six years, Sen. Feinstein introduced legislation several times to create the national monuments but was stymied by congressional inaction. Thousands of supporters, including ranchers, miners, tribal members, conservationists and desert recreationists, along with community leaders and elected officials, advocated for the monuments with resolutions before local governments, letters to the editors, town hall meetings and, eventually, a letter-writing campaign to President Obama that resulted in the creation of the monuments.

Sand to Snow National Monument

Located just east of Los Angeles and within a two-hour drive for more than 24 million people, the 154,000-acre Sand to Snow National Monument offers distinctively diverse topography. From the Sonoran Desert landscape to the rugged San Gorgonio Peak at 11,500 feet, visitors to this national monument can immerse themselves in starkly arid desert and lush forest.  

The monument’s proximity to the Los Angeles metropolitan area offers both opportunities and challenges for the Forest Service and the BLM, which will jointly manage it. As urban centers become dense with residents, everything from neighborhood pocket parks to protected lands, like the nearby Sand to Snow National Monument, become essential for maintaining the human connection with nature and the outdoors. Intriguing historical and cultural sites, rare and fragile wildlife, and rich biodiversity are protected by Sand to Snow. In addition, it encompasses 30 miles of the Pacific Crest Trail (made famous in Cheryl Strayed’s book Wild and the subsequent movie of the same title, starring Reese Witherspoon). 

“Sand to Snow’s peaks and valleys have long provided physical and spiritual sustenance to native people,” says U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack, whose department manages the Forest Service. “Today, they are also an inspiration and recreational beacon to millions. We are honored to ensure the permanent protection of these cherished places.”

“Visitors have been hiking and camping in the San Gorgonio’s since the 1920s, which prompted a call for a national monument as early as 1923,” says John C. Heil III, press officer for the Pacific Southwest Region of the U.S. Forest Service.

Heil says that, over the years, various forms of protection, ranging from “primitive” to “wilderness” designations, have been put in place to balance protection of the resources and the recreational appeal of the highest peak in Southern California. “The protection of cultural and natural resources will both be considered before we implement any changes,” he adds, and he anticipates that the Forest Service and BLM will rely on consultation with tribal governments and field surveys. 

Mojave Trails National Monument

The largest of the three newly designated monuments, Mojave Trails National Monument is a jaw-dropping 1.6 million acres, vastly larger than the 22 national monuments designated during Obama’s presidency. Almost a quarter-million acres within the new monument was land purchased 15 years ago by The Wildlands Conservancy and donated to the Department of the Interior in anticipation of one day achieving national monument status.

Dubbed the “Heart of the Mojave,” this new monument links Joshua Tree National Park and the Mojave National Preserve to assure biological connectivity. Populations of desert bighorn sheep, for example, will be able to move between vast swaths of land to sustain future generations of the species. The Mojave Trails National Monument also links 15 federally designated wilderness areas.

Natural and cultural features in this new national monument include the Pisgah Lava Flow, which provides essential research on the effect volcanoes have on evolution; Sleeping Beauty Valley, a dry playa that is home to more than 350 species of plants, including rare species; Marble Mountains Fossil Beds, an area abundant with well-preserved trilobites dating back 500 million years; and an undeveloped stretch of Route 66.  

Beloved by historians for linking road travelers in the 60s between the Midwest and California, and made famous by author John Steinbeck’s Grapes of Wrath, Route 66 was recently introduced to a new generation in Disney’s animated movie “Cars.” The historic route has been noted by the World Monuments Fund as a threatened resource and also called out by Smithsonian magazine as one of “15 Must-See Endangered Cultural Treasures.” 

BLM management responsibilities, formerly under BLM’s multiple-use mandates, shift to long-term preservation of the monument’s resources. “The BLM has a tremendous opportunity to manage an area with high cultural, historical and environmental significance,” says Dana Wilson, public affairs officer in the BLM’s California state office. 

“In order to manage these areas successfully, the BLM relies heavily on its partnerships with local communities and the public in developing a management plan for the monument that identifies priority areas for conservation, recreation and visitor amenities,” says Wilson. “In particular, the BLM will work with the local communities of Barstow, Needles and Amboy to help us in the process.”

Castle Mountains National Monument

At 21,000 acres, Castle Mountains National Monument is not only the smallest of the three new monuments but is also the most remote. Situated on the California/Nevada border, far closer to Las Vegas than Los Angeles, the new monument fills in a pie-shaped cutout on the northern boundary of the 1.6 million-acre Mojave’s National Preserve. The area was not included in the preserve’s establishing legislation in 1994 because of active mining operations in the area.     

Visitors access the national monument near Searchlight, Nevada, by navigating a bumpy dirt road that yields surprising vistas of distinctive mountain ranges and glimpses of thriving wildlife, including golden eagles, desert tortoise and bighorn sheep. Castle Mountains supports a lush Joshua tree forest — considered one of the best in the Mojave Desert — and high desert grasslands that some say may be prime for the reintroduction of pronghorn antelope. Petroglyphs in the area, remnants of old mining claims, and a gold rush-era railroad track confirm the area’s colorful Old West history.  

National Park Service personnel associated with the Mojave Preserve are anticipated to staff the new national monument, and their enthusiasm is evident. Within days of the president’s designation, the National Park Service had already erected and posted a sign at the Castle Mountains entrance.

 

Paula Jacoby-Garrett  is a freelance writer based in Las Vegas, Nevada. She is also a board member of the Mojave National Preserve Conservancy.