U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein address attendees at the National Monuments Public Meeting at Whitewater Preserve in October 2015.

U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein address attendees at the National Monuments Public Meeting at Whitewater Preserve in October 2015.

Attendees of the National Monuments Public Meeting at Whitewater Preserve in October 2015 view displays about the proposed National Monuments.

Attendees of the National Monuments Public Meeting at Whitewater Preserve in October 2015 view displays about the proposed National Monuments.

An estimated 1,000 people attended the National Monuments Public Meeting at Whitewater Preserve in October 2015.

An estimated 1,000 people attended the National Monuments Public Meeting at Whitewater Preserve in October 2015.

Students in the Green Academy from Desert Mirage High School in Thermal take a photo with Assemblymember Raul Ruiz (D-36 CA) at the National Monuments Public Meeting at Whitewater Preserve in October 2015.

Students in the Green Academy from Desert Mirage High School in Thermal take a photo with Assemblymember Raul Ruiz (D-36 CA) at the National Monuments Public Meeting at Whitewater Preserve in October 2015.

THE NATIONAL MONUMENTS CAMPAIGN

PROPOSED LEGISLATION

The legislation to establish the national monuments has been introduced several times by Senator Dianne Feinstein, beginning in 2009. The legislation stalled in a divided Congress, and as a result, supporters of the national monuments, led by Sen. Feinstein, asked President Obama to declare the national monuments using the Antiquities Act of 1906.

ANTIQUITIES ACT REQUEST AND PUBLIC MEETING

After Senator Feinstein's request to President Obama to declare Mojave Trails, Sand to Snow, and Castle Mountains national monuments by an Antiquities Act proclamation, the Senator welcomed officials from the Department of the Interior and Department of Agriculture to a public hearing hosted by The Wildlands Conservancy at its Whitewater Preserve. Attended by nearly one thousand people representing both sides of the issue, the voices speaking out in support of the monuments were far stronger than those speaking out against.