FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: 

March 18, 2025 

Contact: 

Kaden McArthur, Director of Policy & Government Relations, [email protected] 

California’s National Monuments a Bullseye, 850,000 Acres of Public Lands Under Threat 

BHA calls on hunters, anglers, and public land advocates to speak up in opposition to the unprecedented move 

Washington, D.C. – California’s newest national monuments – critical landscapes that support hunting, fishing and outdoor recreation – are under threat, though there may be a brief window to avoid an action to eliminate them. That’s why Backcountry Hunters & Anglers (BHA) – North America’s leading public lands advocacy group and the voice for wild public lands, waters, and wildlife – is rallying sportsmen and women to take swift action before it’s too late for the conservation of these cherished places. 

Over the weekend, the Trump administration released a factsheet signaling potential action to eliminate monument designations – an unprecedented move that would strip conservation status from nearly 850,000 acres of public land. An excerpt from the fact sheet reads: 

“President Trump’s latest action targets some of Biden’s most damaging executive orders and policies, including…Terminating proclamations declaring nearly a million acres constitute new national monuments that lock up vast amounts of land from economic development and energy production.” 

Reportedly in reference to the Chuckwalla and Sattitla Highlands national monuments, the factsheet has since been taken down, and no executive order has yet to be issued.

While no president has ever eliminated a national monument, President Trump dramatically shrunk two national monuments during his first term; and most legal scholars agree the president lacks the legal authority to do either. 

This news follows a review of every national monument in the U.S., for the purpose of “unleashing” energy and natural resource development. The review did not solicit any input from the public and has not been made publicly available, despite passing a 15-day deadline set by the administration on Feb. 7, 2025. 

BHA has consistently advocated for America’s national monuments system and the judicious use of the Antiquities Act as a way to permanently conserve important lands and waters. Key to achieving this outcome is a process that adheres to specific principles and is locally driven, transparent, incorporates the science-based management of habitat, and upholds existing hunting and fishing opportunities. 

To take action alongside BHA to protect the integrity of the Antiquities Act before President Trump takes any official action and to ensure hundreds of thousands of acres of public lands are permanently conserved, visit BHA’s Action Center. 

Backcountry Hunters & Anglers seeks to ensure North America's outdoor heritage of hunting and fishing in a natural setting, through education and work on behalf of wild public lands, waters, and wildlife. To learn more about issues important to BHA’s membership, visit www.backcountryhunters.org/our_issues.