Dangerously high winds force Biden to cancel event announcing two new national monuments

LOS ANGELES — Dangerously high winds forced President Joe Biden to cancel a trip Tuesday to the Eastern Coachella Valley, where he was to announce the creation of two new national monuments in California that will honor Native American tribes. “The designation of the Chuckwalla and Sáttítla National Monuments in California marks an historic step toward protecting lands of profound cultural, ecological and historical significance for all Americans,” said Carrie Besnette Hauser, president and CEO of the nonprofit Trust for Public Land. Designation of the Chuckwalla monument “accelerates our state’s crucial efforts to fight the climate crisis, protect our iconic wildlife, preserve sacred tribal sites and promote clean energy,” Padilla said. “Tribes being reunited as stewards of this landscape is only the beginning of much-needed healing and restoration, and we are eager to fully rebuild our relationship to this place.” In May, the Biden administration expanded two national monuments in California — the San Gabriel Mountains in the south and Berryessa Snow Mountain in the north.