Biden to dedicate two new national monuments on 850K acres of tribal land in California

President Biden is expected to designate two new national monuments in California this week, which will bar roughly 850,000 acres of tribal lands from future development.

The move would establish a 644,000-acre Chuckwalla National Monument located in the southern part of the state near Joshua Tree National Park, sources familiar with the matter said. While no public plans about the new monument have been announced, sources have leaked details to the media and the president's public schedule shows he will be traveling Tuesday to Southern California's east Coachella Valley, site of the designated tribal land. 

The new monuments will be designated by Biden via his authority under the Antiquities Act of 1906, which allows presidents to bypass Congress when seeking to protect lands and water for the benefit of the nation. Since the start of his presidency, Biden has already used his executive authority under the act to establish eight new national monuments, while expanding four others, the Washington Post reported.

Last month, the Biden administration unveiled a report detailing the negative public impact on increasing liquefied natural gas exports, a move that experts said could provide fodder for environmentalists seeking to challenge Trump's efforts to increase U.S. energy production.

Steve Milloy, a fellow at the Energy and Environmental Legal Institute, said Biden's latest national monuments designation could serve the same purpose. "While Trump can undo whatever Biden does, Biden is trying to create litigation traps for Trump that will discourage investors from projects on public lands," he said.

On Monday, Biden also used his executive authority to ban new oil and gas drilling off nearly all U.S. coasts. "The decision to unilaterally block areas from future offshore oil and gas development is a strategic error, driven not by science or voter mandate, but by political motives," the National Ocean Industries Association said.