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BLM nominee Pearce promises Padilla he’ll protect Chuckwalla National Monument; some IE groups oppose Trump’s pick to lead agency
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unconstitutional utility tax
fter a court determined last fall that the city of Canyon Lake’s utility users tax imposed on water and sewer customers is unconstitutional, the city is issuing refunds, officials said earlier this month. The tax, which voters approved in 2014 and 2018, applied to customers of the Elsinore Valley Municipal Water District and Eastern Municipal Water District. In Beck v. City of Canyon Lake a panel from the California Court of Appeal, 4th District, found that the city’s water and sewer UUT
The Chuckwalla National Monument. | Photo courtesy of the U.S. Bureau of Land Management
Yes or no?” After Pearce answered affirmatively, Padilla responded, “That’s a great answer. Short, clear, concise, and on the record, and I appreciate your support for maintaining these protections.” If Pearce is confirmed, Padilla said he would arrange a meeting about Chuckwalla with the new BLM director and members of the Intertribal Commission. “As a representative of southern New Mexico, we had multiple Pueblos, we had Apache tribes, and we had Navajos,” Pearce replied. “We worked extremely closely with all of those to accomplish objectives they were looking for in their lands. I would visualize very similar. The Native Americans sometimes are overlooked, from Washington. “We became a voice for them and would continue to do that,” Pearce said. “Right, and we talked about meaningful, substantive consultation, not just the checking of a box that
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lands for future generations to enjoy and not just knee jerk sell them to the highest bidder,” Padilla told Pearce at the hearing. “These BLM lands in California include Chuckwalla National Monument. For years, I worked with numerous tribal leaders who led the effort to protect the natural resources in that area and to promote access to what is now Chuckwalla. It was a thoughtfully crafted proposal, as you and I discussed in my office, that took into account the input from stakeholders, conservationists, of course, energy developers, utilities, Tribal leaders, hunters, recreation groups, and others, and we ended up with universal local support from the state and bipartisan support here in the Senate and in Congress. “As a result, as one of the outcomes of that, five tribes have even formed an Intertribal Commission to solidify their enduring commitment to protecting sacred lands in Chuckwalla,” Padilla said. “My question is clear and simple, Mr. Pearce. If confirmed, are you committed to honoring these monument designations?
Canyon Lake residents
By Staff
By Joe Taglieri
t a Senate confirmation hearing Wednesday, Steve Pearce, the nominee for director of the U.S. Bureau of Land Management, pledged to maintain protections from mining and energy production for the Chuckwalla National Monument in Southern California. Sen. Alex Padilla, D-California, responded to recent moves by the Trump administration to cancel protections for the nation’s public lands during the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee hearing, highlighting Pearce’s U.S. House voting record on public lands when he represented Congressional District 2 in New Mexico from 2003-09 and 2011-19. President Joe Biden established the 624,270-acre Chuckwalla National Monument in Riverside and Imperial counties shortly before he left office in January 2025. “From a California perspective, the Bureau of Land Management manages nearly 15% of California’s land mass, so it’s critical for us that BLM and the BLM director maintain these
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has happened so much over the course of history,” California’s senior senator responded. “Absolutely,” Pearce said. Padilla and Chuckwalla Monument proponents say the designation safeguards key spiritual and cultural values tied to the land such as multi-use trail systems established by Indigenous peoples, sacred sites, objects and artifacts, traditional cultural places, geoglyphs, petroglyphs, pictographs, native plants and local wildlife. Federal protections also provide more equitable access to nature for eastern Coachella Valley communities and nearby areas. Last year, Padilla and monument supporters criticized a U.S. Department of Justice legal opinion that could enable federal officials to eliminate or reduce the boundaries of California’s recently established monuments, Chuckwalla and Sáttítla Highlands in Siskiyou County. A statement to HeySoCal. com from the U.S. Interior
was unconstitutional under Article XIII D of the California Constitution, a law voters established under Proposition 218. The court held that the tax was imposed “as an incident of property ownership” and used for general governmentalpurposes beyond the cost of providing water and sewer services, according to a Canyon Lake ordinance passed in November. “Based upon this decision, the City of Canyon Lake will pay refunds to all customers of these districts who have paid the water and/or sewer
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Flower-filled vistas available for visitors to enjoy By City News Service
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iverside County residents and visitors seeking an up-close look at rich flower blooms as winter loosens its grip got their first glimpse Friday around Diamond Valley Lake, where the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California opened the Wildflower Trail. “Thanks to the late fall and early winter storms, colorful blooms are already dotting the hillsides above the reservoir,” the MWD said in a statement Wednesday. “Visitors can typically expect to see vibrant California poppies, deep blue arroyo lupines, purple Canterbury bells, yellow rancher’s fiddle-
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neck, delicate white popcorn flowers and pink red maids.” The poppy blooms are enormously popular. In 2019, blossoms carpeting hillsides around Lake Elsinore triggered so much attention that Interstate 15 became a virtual parking lot over several weekends. The Judy Abdo Wildflower Trail abutting Diamond Valley Lake is part of the Southwestern Riverside County MultiSpecies Reserve, encompassing 9,000 acres of protected space. The trail was scheduled to officially open to trekkers at 6:30 a.m. Friday. Rangers closed it at 4:30 p.m. Afterward, the 1.3-mile path will