From Preservation Action:

The future of the Chuckwalla National Monument and Sáttítla Highlands National Monument in California are uncertain after a White House fact sheet indicated President Trump would sign a proclamation eliminating approximately 1 million acres of recently established National Monuments. That language soon disappeared from the fact sheet and the national monument elimination was not included in the cited Executive Order. Both National Monuments were established by President Biden under the Antiquities Act in January and protect thousands of acres of fragile ecosystems, containing numerous cultural and scientific treasures. These areas are the ancestral homeland and considered sacred by many local tribes. These tribes helped lead the decades long effort to protect these areas.

Secretarial Orders from the Department of Interior released last month aims to boost energy production and resource extraction on federal lands and calls for the review and revision of withdrawn lands, citing National Monuments. During President Trump's first administration, they called for dramatically reducing the size of Bears Ears National Monument and Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument. These actions were challenged in court, but were ultimately restored by President Biden. These same court challenges are currently pending, in anticipation of additional attempts to reduce and eliminate National Monuments. 

Preservation Action will continue to advocate for the importance of National Monuments and the protection of the Antiquities Act.