The morning sun brightens the mountains through the Box Canyon Wash near Mecca, Calif., on Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025. The area is being designated as the Chuckwalla National Monument.
Riverside County, California – A Texas-based conservative think tank is suing the federal government in an effort to undo the creation of the Chuckwalla National Monument, a sprawling 624,000-acre expanse in Southern California designated by President Joe Biden during his final week in office.
The lawsuit, filed May 1 in federal court, names Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, the U.S. Department of the Interior, and the Bureau of Land Management as defendants. Plaintiffs include Daniel Torongo, whose family has mined in the area since 1978, and BlueRibbon Coalition, an off-road recreation group. They are represented by the Texas Public Policy Foundation (TPPF), which argues the monument’s establishment violates the Antiquities Act of 1906.
“The Chuckwalla National Monument exceeds presidential authority by attempting to protect indiscriminate objects; objects not expressly listed in the proclamation; and objects ‘yet to be discovered,’” TPPF attorneys wrote in the complaint. They claim the region does not meet the legal definition of an “object” under the Antiquities Act, and that the scope of the monument violates the requirement to limit designations to the “smallest area compatible” with preservation goals.
The plaintiffs argue the proclamation threatens both financial and recreational interests. Torongo claims he can no longer mine the land, while BlueRibbon Coalition says its members’ off-roading and hiking access will be curtailed.
Matt Miller, a senior attorney for TPPF, said monuments were originally intended to protect small, specific sites—not vast landscapes. “If you look at the history, it was supposed to be limited to, let’s say, 100 acres, maybe 1,000 acres,” he said. “But it certainly wasn’t the kind of expansion that we’ve seen in recent years.”
Supporters of the monument call the lawsuit a politically motivated attack on public lands. “We have a Texas special interest group representing a guy from Michigan trying to undo something that Californians love and fought for,” said Janessa Goldbeck, CEO of Vet Voice Foundation. “It’s an ideological attempt by out-of-state special interests to sell off our public lands.”
Goldbeck, a former U.S. Marine, emphasized the historical and cultural value of the region, including preserved WWII-era training sites. She also pushed back on claims that public recreation would be restricted, noting that activities like hiking, hunting, and camping remain permitted.
