This Week's Opportunities to Speak Up
Rep. Jay Obernolte's Office Hours, Thursday, March 20, and Protecting Chuckwalla National Monument, Saturday, March 22
This article has been edited to update the time and place of the 3/22 rally in support of Chuckwalla National Monument and other public lands.
Thursday, March 20, 2-4 pm, Rep. Jay Obernolte’s Office Hours, Twentynine Palms City Hall
Every third Thursday of odd-numbered months, representatives of District 23’s congressperson Jay Obernolte hold mobile office hours and listen to constituents’ concerns.
The Desert Trumpet spoke to one of Representative Obernolte’s staff, who said constituents can bring their issues involving federal agencies to the meeting. Generally, she said, the office hours are held in conference rooms at City Hall but may move to the larger council chambers if needed.
Several hundred residents brought concerns to the representative last month at a Town Hall in Yucca Valley that sometimes grew contentious, with un-elected Elon Musk, running the Department of Government Efficiency, being a frequent target. Since that time, Rep. Obernolte has done little in response to issues raised at that meeting. DOGE’s actions cutting staff at the Veteran’s Administration and Social Security Administration have been particularly disturbing to the community, as have layoffs at Joshua Tree National Park.
Please attend! We recommend that you keep your comments brief, as if you had the three minutes allotted speaking to the City Council. Your issues are important, and others have crucial messages too.
Saturday, March 22, 10 am to 2 pm, Protect Chuckwalla National Monument, Palm Springs, City Park (near Art Museum)
As of this writing, it’s unclear if the current administration is rescinding the creation of Chuckwalla National Monument and Sáttítla Highlands National Monument, which President Joe Biden proclaimed on January 14, 2025. The administration signaled that it would happen, saying that they "lock up vast amounts of land from economic development and energy production."
Language referring to the two new national monuments was deleted from a Fact Sheet posted online by the Trump administration on Friday. The monument language was later deleted from the Fact Sheet. Despite verbal confirmations of intent to eliminate the monuments in press reports, to date, no executive order has been issued.
Concerned about the potential exploitation of public lands for mining and other invasive commercial activities, Resistance Rangers, a network of national park staff and supporters, is sponsoring protests nationwide in support of public lands like national parks, monuments, forests, preserves, historical sites, and recreation areas. Resistance Rangers Joshua Tree is sponsoring a protest against rescinding Chuckwalla National Monument. It will take place Saturday in the low desert, location to be determined—we’ll be updating this article and announcing the information on social media as soon as we know.
The proclamation establishing Chuckwalla (administered by the Bureau of Land Management) has been scrubbed from whitehouse.gov but can be found here:
In southeastern California, where the Mojave and Colorado Deserts intersect, ancient trails weave through a land of canyon-carved mountain ranges bound together by radiating alluvial bajadas and dark tendrils of dry wash woodlands. Sharing a name with the wide-bodied lizard that is commonly found here and derived from the Cahuilla word “čáxwal,” the Chuckwalla region is a place of wonder that lies within the traditional homelands of the Iviatim (Cahuilla), Nüwü (Chemehuevi), Pipa Aha Macav (Mojave), Kwatsáan (Quechan), Maara'yam and Marringayam (Serrano), and other Indigenous peoples.
The Desert Sun has an excellent piece on the coalitions that brought the monument into being and the bipartisan pushback facing efforts to eliminate the monument. A broad alliance has championed Chuckwalla National Monument, led by tribal partners and supported by local cities, businesses, and Chambers of Commerce as well as environmental organizations and faith leaders.
Note: The Tuesday, March 18 Twentynine Palms Planning Commission meeting is cancelled. The next City meeting is City Council on March 25.
Leave your thoughts in the comments below. Please note that we do not allow anonymous comments. Please be sure your first and last name is on your profile prior to commenting. Anonymous comments will be deleted.
Feel free to share this article!
We are just $100 away from our $5000 paid subscription drive goal! Won’t you consider upgrading to a paid subscription?
Note: your subscription/donation will be listed as AHA Projects, the name of our fiscal receiver, on your statement.