WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, U.S. Senator Alex Padilla (D-Calif.) Feb. 25 secured a commitment from Stevan Pearce, nominee for Bureau of Land Management Director at the Department of the Interior, to protect California’s Chuckwalla National Monument amid the Trump Administration’s efforts to abolish protections for America’s public lands. During the Senate energy and natural resources committee hearing, Padilla highlighted Pearce’s concerning voting record on public lands as a former New Mexico U.S. Representative and pushed him to honor the monument designation for these sacred, ecologically significant lands in California’s eastern Imperial and Riverside counties.
Padilla emphasized that the monument has broad, bipartisan support. The Torres Martinez Desert Cahuilla Indians, the Fort Yuma Quechan Indian Tribe, the Cahuilla Band of Indians, the Chemehuevi Indian Tribe, and the Colorado River Indian Tribes or CRIT have also formed the Chuckwalla National Monument Intertribal Commission to sustain their lasting commitment to safeguard these sacred lands. Padilla secured Pearce’s commitment, if confirmed, to meet with the Intertribal Commission to learn more about the monument and engage in meaningful Tribal consultation.
Details: Video of the exchange is available here.