Press Release: Fort Yuma Quechan Indian Tribe Receives the Prestigious 30x30 Champions Award for Southern California Land Conservation Efforts

SAN DIEGO, CA (August 14, 2025) – Today, the Fort Yuma Quechan Indian Tribe (FYQIT) was presented the prestigious 30x30 Champions Award for its years’ long efforts in land and conservation initiatives. This award was presented by the California Natural Resources Agency (CNRA) at the annual 30x30 Partnerships Summit in San Diego, California. This recognition honors the Quechan Tribal Council and Kw’tsán Cultural Committee’s Chuckwalla and Kw’tsán National Monument campaign efforts, their tireless advocacy for ancestral lands return, and their passion and leadership in Tribal cultural resources protection. 

The Tribe’s reservation lands are located in Imperial County, California and their traditional homelands span across the Sonoran Desert and into the Coachella Valley, including the recently designated Chuckwalla National Monument and lands proposed as the Protect Kw’tsán campaign. Quechan partnered with its sister Tribes (the Torres Martinez, Cahuilla Indians, Chemehuevi Indian Tribe, the Colorado River Indian Tribes, Twenty-Nine Palms Band of Mission Indians, and more), to call for the protection of these landscapes which contains incredible cultural, ecological, recreational, scenic, and historic values. In January 2025, this Tribally-led advocacy resulted in an executive order signed to designate Chuckwalla National Monument. This action provides protections that will preserve the landscape for the benefit and enjoyment of present and future generations.

The Tribe continues to advocate for the much-needed protection of lands within the traditional homelands of the Quechan people. 

“On behalf of the Quechan people, we humbly accept this award but not without first honoring the fact that we never work alone,” said Fort Yuma Quechan Indian Tribe President Jonathan Koteen. “Our Nation’s motto is, Together We Progress, and this award is a prime example of what success looks like when Tribes, our people, our allies, and our communities work together. As we celebrate this honor, we continue to ask that we share the responsibility to protect, preserve, and be good stewards of what we fought so hard for to achieve. What’s more, the fight continues and we hope to carry the momentum we’ve started through our recent monument designation.”

“Our Committee is thankful for this wonderful gesture and more so for the solidarity we experience as we work each day to protect what is meaningful to the Kw’tsán people,” says Kw’tsán Cultural Committee Chairman Manfred Scott. “Throughout our fights, we have the opportunity to share stories about our relationship to these sacred landscapes. In return, we hear from many community members about their shared passion for all things living - this tells us that our wins are a win for all. Our Committee appreciates the staff at CNRA for this acknowledgement, and for their willingness to partner on such bold initiatives throughout the years to make our efforts that much more impactful.”

The Quechan Ancestral Landscapes are part of a greater cultural landscape, connecting Avi Kwa Lal, Palo Verde Peak, the newly designated Chuckwalla National Monument, and Spirit Mountain in Avi Kwa Ame National Monument, which was designated by President Biden in 2023. The ancestral landscape boundary incorporates the Indian Pass Area of Critical Environmental Concern (ACEC) Pilot Knob (Avikwalal), Singer Geoglyphs (ACEC), Buzzards Peak, and Picacho Peak Wilderness areas. 

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B-roll of the landscape available here.

Photos of the proposed monument available here. Please credit “Courtesy of Fort Yuma Quechan Indian Tribe/Bob Wick.”