Diario del proyecto Proposed Chuckwalla National Monument

Hello Everyone,

Hopefully anyone nearby the proposed Chuckwalla National Monument has had a chance to visit in the last few weeks - the wildflowers have been putting on quite a show, especially in the Mecca Hills area.

To discover the wildflowers, and help people learn more about the proposed Monument, we'll be hosting and co-hosting a series of wildflower walks over the next couple of weeks (with the potential for additional walks if the blooms keep going). The walks are on Friday March 29, Saturday March 30, and Saturday April 6. Here are the links to register if you are interested:
https://WildflowerWalkMarch29.eventbrite.com
https://WildflowerWalkMarch30.eventbrite.com
https://WildflowerWalkApril6.eventbrite.com

We'll also be holding an evening hike in the Mecca Hills on Friday, April 19. We'll get to experience the proposal area as the sun sets, and may get a bonus of some wildlife and wildflowers. Here's the link to register:
https://ECVSunsetHikeApr19.eventbrite.com

I hope to see you on the trail!
Colin

Hello everyone,

We've got big news: Representative Dr. Raul Ruiz has officially endorsed the Chuckwalla National Monument proposal and has introduced legislation to the House of Representatives calling for the designation of the monument! The Protect California Deserts coalition has a statement here: https://protectchuckwalla.org/2023/09/25/new-chuckwalla-national-monument-joshua-tree-national-park-expansion-proposed-for-the-california-desert/, and many coalition members organizations are also issuing statements and posting online. Here's one from CactusToCloud Institute, which I represent: https://www.cactustocloud.org/news/cactustocloud-institute-joins-calls-to-designate-chuckwalla-national-monument.

This is an important milestone, but we're not over the finish line yet. Legislation has been introduced, but we're not holding our breath for the House to act so our focus has shifted to convincing President Biden to designate the monument under the Antiquitites Act. You can help by signing the petition on the coalition website (https://protectchuckwalla.org/takeaction/), writing a letter of support on behalf of yourself or your organization, and by encouraging others to support the monument by sharing your personal stories from the area. I'm always happy to answer questions or help with suggestions on how to help at colin@cactustocloud.org or here on iNat.

Colin

Hello everyone,

You may have gotten a notification that the observation requirements have changed for the project. This was due to a change in the place boundaries - I updated the iNat place boundary from version 9 to version 11. This represents the latest in a series of changes we've made as we talk to the community and identify areas to either include or exclude from our draft boundaries for the proposed monument.

The area affected is in the northwest corner of the proposed monument, which has been reduced slightly. It's pretty sparse in terms of observations - only about 100 were affected and are no longer in the project. No new observations have been added as a result of the boundary changes.

Colin

The Protect California Desert coalition is working to protect wildlife, honor indigenous homelands, and ensure equitable access to public lands east of the Coachella Valley, extending almost to the Colorado River and into Imperial County through the designation of Chuckwalla National Monument and the expansion of Joshua Tree National Park.

You may already be familiar with the proposal, but if not you can visit our coalition website, read about it in our local newspaper, or join us at an upcoming virtual open house on June 13th at 6pm.

I'm setting up this project not only to highlight the unique biodiversity of this part of the California Desert, but to help make the case that many of the plants and animals within the proposed Monument boundary are truly unique and worthy of protection.

Please join this project, and if you are comfortable doing so, trust the project with your hidden coordinates. Many of the plants and animals within the proposed Chuckwalla National Monument are threatened, endangered, or rare enough to be automatically obscured by iNaturalist, but knowing the true coordinates is really important for our purposes. This project is administered by team members at CactusToCloud Institute, and we take the security of sensitive biological data seriously. If you trust us with your hidden coordinates, we'll treat that data under the same guidelines as the CNDDB

Thank you for submitting observations from the area! I hope you found the desert as amazing a place as we do. I'm happy to answer questions or discuss the proposal further with you through iNat messages, via email at colin@cactustocloud.org, or out on the trail.

Note that the proposed Chuckwalla National Monument boundary, and any iNat places based on that boundary, are in draft form and are subject to change based on scientific, historical, and cultural values and/or feedback from the community.

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