Residents & activists rally to save Desert Monuments
People across the country are working to save more than two dozen national monuments after President Trump’s executive order — which intends to review whether to reduce or eliminate the monuments completely.
KESQ News Channel 3 and CBS Local 2’s Zak Dahlheimer spoke to local residents and activists Thursday as they rallied to save two of those monuments — right in our backyard.
Zak was at the Whitewater Preserve Thursday morning, right within the Sand to Snow Monument, where people around the Coachella Valley and country gathered to support not just the Sand and Snow Monument, but also the Mojave Trails Monument.
These two national monuments are the closest to the Coachella Valley and could be losing some, if not all of their protection.
For Susan Hiebert, this land is her home.
Hiebert has lived with her family near the Whitewater Preserve for nearly 20 years.
“When my husband’s mom passed away a couple of years ago, we cam out here after, spent a couple of days out here for quiet reflection, and to find peace with her passing,” Hiebert said. “She would’ve loved it out here. And we spent a lot of time out here, and this place, after her passing, has become even more special to us since.”
For Jack Thompson, this land is his office. Having helped turn the land within the Sand to Snow Monument into a preserve, while watching visitors from all walk of life walk side-by-side with nature. Thompson is the Desert Regional Director of the Wildlands Conservancy Whitewater Preserve.
“People get a lot of solace,” said Thompson. “I think all of the difficulty of the business of life kind of fades away.”
On Thursday, both Hiebert and Thompson joined the Center for Western Priorities Monuments to America Tour — an effort to raise awareness about threats to Sand to Snow and Mojave Trails monuments.
Secretary of the Interior, Ryan Zinske, announced in a statement last week, two monuments, Craters of the Moon in Idaho and Hanford Reach in Washington, are no longer under review.
You can watch Zak Dahlheimer’s full report on the local movement to protect our desert monuments on KESQ News Channel 3 at 5 p.m.
