Statements on Introduced Bills and Joint Resolutions
Floor Speech
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Mr. PADILLA. Madam President, I rise to introduce the Chuckwalla National Monument Establishment and Joshua Tree National Park Expansion Act.
The Chuckwalla National Monument Establishment and Joshua Tree National Park Expansion Act would establish a new Chuckwalla National Monument to protect approximately 620,000 acres of public lands, while also expanding Joshua Tree National Park by adding approximately 17,842 acres of previously designated public lands that were identified as suitable for inclusion in the park by the National Park Service.
The proposed Chuckwalla National Monument's vast desert landscape spanning from the area along Joshua Tree National Park's southern boundary, along Interstate 10 from the eastern Coachella Valley, and all the way to the Colorado River are worthy of permanent protection.
This area has a unique, biodiverse ecosystem; is home to habitats for species like the Chuckwalla lizard and the endangered desert tortoise; and contains critical migration corridors for desert bighorn sheep. This area is also cherished for outdoor recreation activities like hiking and rock climbing.
The lands within the proposed national monument include the homelands of the Iviatim, Nuwu, Pipa Aha Macav, Kwatsaan, and Maara'yam peoples (Cahuilla, Chemehuevi, Mojave, Quechan, and Serrano Nations). Designating the Chuckwalla National Monument would help to protect important spiritual and cultural values tied to the land such as multi- use trail systems established by indigenous peoples, sacred sites and objects, traditional cultural places, geoglyphs, petroglyphs, pictographs, and native plants and wildlife.
I am proud to work to introduce this legislation that would preserve part of California's vast desert landscape, help ensure more equitable access to nature and recreation, protect biodiversity, and preserve decades of cultural riches, particularly for the Tribal governments who have worked so hard to protect this area.
I want to thank Representative Raul Ruiz of California for leading the House companion and Senator Butler for her cosponsorship in the Senate. I look forward to working with our colleagues to pass the Chuckwalla National Monument Establishment and Joshua Tree National Park Expansion Act as quickly as possible.
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