Grassroots · Oakland, CA
California Wilderness Coalition
Spent years building the designation campaign with Tribal nations and now defends the monument as an intervenor in federal court
6 staff + 12 volunteers77¢ to the workFounded 1976
Stand · Find your defenders
Who’s defending Chuckwalla?
6 groups have it in their care
National monument in California, 624,270 acres, managed by the Bureau of Land Management, designated in 2025.
The defenders
The groups doing the most work here
6 groups are on the record for Chuckwalla, each tied to it by a source our editors read, in the order they carry the weight. Give directly; nothing routes through us.
Leading the fight
On the ground
Advocacy · Durango, CO
Conservation Lands Foundation
Intervenor defending the monument designation, represented by Advocates for the West
26 staff79¢ to the workFounded 2007
Also in the fight
Advocacy · Washington, DC
National Parks Conservation Association
Intervenor defending the Chuckwalla designation in federal court
217 staff + 900 volunteers78¢ to the workFounded 1919
Legal · Boise, ID
Advocates for the West
Counsel to Conservation Lands Foundation in the suit seeking to overturn the monument
14 staff + 41 volunteers79¢ to the workFounded 2003
Legal · Tucson, AZ
Center for Biological Diversity
Intervenor defending the monument against the suit brought by a motorized recreation group and a miner
242 staff + 19 volunteers88¢ to the workFounded 1989
Legal · San Francisco, CA
Earthjustice
Counsel for the nine organizations that intervened to defend the designation
698 staff + 33 volunteers81¢ to the workFounded 1971
17 more work nearby but are not tied to Chuckwalla on the record
On the ground in California
Save the Redwoods LeagueThey work only in CaliforniaLand TrustKlamath Forest AllianceCalifornia is one of the 2 states they work inFriends GroupRecreational Boaters of CaliforniaThey work only in CaliforniaRecreationChannel Islands Park FoundationThey work only in CaliforniaFriends GroupLassen AssociationThey work only in CaliforniaFriends GroupPoint Reyes National Seashore AssociationThey work only in CaliforniaFriends Group
More ways in
Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen's AssociationsThey work only in CaliforniaCoalitionSierra Forest LegacyThey work only in CaliforniaFriends GroupVentana Wilderness AllianceThey work only in CaliforniaFriends GroupPacific Crest Trail AssociationCalifornia is one of the 3 states they work inTrailsTahoe Rim Trail AssociationCalifornia is one of the 2 states they work inTrailsFriends of the Desert MountainsThey work only in CaliforniaFriends GroupSequoia Parks ConservancyThey work only in CaliforniaFriends GroupFriends of the InyoThey work only in CaliforniaFriends GroupGolden Gate National Parks ConservancyThey work only in CaliforniaFriends GroupRedwood Parks ConservancyThey work only in CaliforniaFriends GroupWestern National Parks AssociationWorking this regionFriends Group
The situation
What’s happening to Chuckwalla
Over 600,000 acres of Sonoran Desert wilderness, rugged canyons, desert tortoise habitat, and ancient Indigenous trails. Chuckwalla could lose its protections before most Americans learn it exists. That is the point: kill the monument while no one is watching.
- 2025Designated as national monument by President Biden
New monument targeted for elimination
Source: The Washington Post
Boundary reduction proposed
Source: CalMatters
No public comment window is open on Chuckwalla right now. A call script is ready on the Public Lands Action Network, and the groups above are how the fight gets funded and argued in the meantime.
Our reporting
What we’ve published on Chuckwalla
Your move
How to stand for Chuckwalla
GiveGive to California Wilderness Coalition
Straight to their own donation page. Your dollar never passes through us.
Their donation page ↗SpeakCall your representativesA ready call script on Chuckwalla, plus any comment window as it opens.
Public Lands Action NetworkFollowWatch the mapEvery threatened place in the country, tracked, with who stands for each.
Threatened Lands MapBuild my lineup around Chuckwalla: the leading group here opens it, and the other seats fill from this record.
Chuckwalla has defenders. It needs more.
6 groups on the record, California Wilderness Coalition with 6 staff + 12 volunteers. That is who is holding it. Find your way in.