In the final days of his term, President Biden issued a sweeping proclamation that locked up over 624,000 acres of Southern California desert—roughly the size of Rhode Island—by declaring it the Chuckwalla National Monument. With that single act, entire communities were shut out of the public lands that they’ve relied on for generations. The trails are closed. New roads are banned. And the livelihoods and freedoms of Americans like Daniel Torongo and the members of Blue Ribbon Coalition are put in jeopardy.
This is not conservation. This is confiscation by proclamation.
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Daniel Torongo is a third-generation miner from Michigan whose family has held mining claims in the Chuckwalla region since the 1980s. His plan for retirement was to return to the desert where his father and grandfather once worked—to expand the family’s claims and continue a legacy built on grit, integrity, and the use of public lands. Now, those plans are buried under new layers of bureaucracy and red tape. Maintaining his claim is suddenly uncertain and more expensive. Expanding it is impossible. With no vote, no hearing, and no warning, the federal government slammed the door shut on a way of life.
But Daniel’s story is not unique.
Blue Ribbon Coalition represents a nationwide network of outdoor enthusiasts—off-roaders, veterans, hikers, and families—many of whom regularly explore the Chuckwalla region’s rugged terrain. These are people who lawfully use the land for recreation, only to be told they may no longer be welcome. The proclamation’s boundaries and sweeping restrictions have already led to trail closures and will inevitably lead to more. These are real people. With real plans. Facing real consequences.
The legal problem? The Antiquities Act of 1906—the law President Biden invoked to lock up this land—was never meant to do this.
That law, passed over a century ago to protect specific historical landmarks and archaeological sites, gives the president the narrow power to declare “historic landmarks, historic and prehistoric structures, and other objects of historic or scientific interest” as national monuments. Critically, the law requires that any monument be “confined to the smallest area compatible” with protecting those specific objects.
But Chuckwalla isn’t a ruin. It’s not a site. It’s a sprawling region that the government claims might contain objects or future discoveries. That’s not lawful under the Antiquities Act. In fact, it stretches the law so far beyond its purpose that it turns a protective statute into a blank check for land grabs. If 624,000 acres qualifies as the “smallest area compatible,” then the phrase has lost all meaning.
And if the courts allow this to stand, the implications are chilling.
Under the Constitution’s Property Clause, only Congress—not the President—has the authority to decide what to do with federal lands. Delegating that power to the executive without clear limits violates the separation of powers. And under the Major Questions Doctrine, any major policy shift with significant economic and recreational consequences must be clearly authorized by Congress. That hasn’t happened here.
This case is about more than one miner and a few blocked trails. It’s about whether President Biden can unilaterally reshape land use across the American West without oversight, input, or accountability. If this proclamation stands, future presidents will be emboldened to repeat it—closing off massive regions from miners, ranchers, campers, and countless others who rely on public lands.
Mountain States Legal Foundation is proud to partner with our friends at Texas Public Policy Foundation (TPPF) to represent Dan Torongo and Blue Ribbon Coalition in challenging this abuse of power. We’ve joined TPPF’s suit to ask the courts to step in—not just to protect our clients, but to enforce the limits of the law, restore balance between the branches of government, and ensure that public lands remain just that: public.
What’s at Stake?
If the courts allow this to stand, future presidents will face no meaningful limits on their ability to unilaterally seize control of federal lands—and by extension, restrict access to state and even private lands. That’s not just bad policy. It’s unconstitutional.
Congress placed clear constraints in the Antiquities Act to limit the president’s authority. The courts must uphold those boundaries. If they don’t, they risk endorsing a dangerous concentration of power—effectively turning the president into a land czar with the unchecked ability to reshape the American landscape at will.
Under our Constitution, Congress may only delegate its powers to the executive branch if it provides clear and enforceable limits. If the courts now say those limits don’t exist in the Antiquities Act, then Congress’s delegation itself was unconstitutional—and the very foundation of presidential monument declarations must be reexamined.
The consequences are not abstract. They’re already harming real people. For Dan Torongo, it means the sudden loss of a generational livelihood, and his ability to expand and maintain a mining claim is now in jeopardy. For members of Blue Ribbon Coalition, it means losing access to the public lands they’ve responsibly used for years—off-roaders, veterans, and families now face closures, restrictions, and uncertainty. When presidents overstep, it’s not bureaucrats who pay the price—it’s Americans like our clients, who are left without a voice or a vote in decisions that alter their lives.