Word has it that Nevada may be getting another national monument. Currently, it is home to three monuments and two national parks. The three national monuments are Tule Springs Fossil Beds, Basin and Range, and Gold Butte. The national parks are the 77,000-acre Great Basin National Park and the colossal Death Valley National Park, which covers three million acres between Nevada and California.
During the White House Tribal Nations Summit on Nov. 30 and Dec. 1 in Washington, D.C., President Joe Biden said he would protect Spirit Mountain. The Indigenous Mojave people call the area Avi Kwa Ame. Biden said, "I'm committed to protecting this sacred place that is central to the creation story of so many Tribes that are here today... My administration will also continue using all the available authorities, including the Antiquities Act, to protect sacred Tribal lands."
The Antiquities Act of 1906 has been used by sitting presidents to protect cultural and natural resources, creating national monuments such as Devil's Tower, Muir Woods and Oregon Caves.
In addition to meeting with conservationists and tribal members, Biden also met with Democratic U.S. Rep. Dina Titus, who introduced legislation in February to create the monument, and members of the state's congressional delegation.
Interior Secretary Deb Haaland, who is also the first Native American Cabinet secretary, tweeted, "We're committed to collaborative conservation and co-stewardship practices that enhance our efforts to protect these special places for generations to come."
Originally home to 10 Yuman-speaking tribes, Avi Kwa Ame is also a sacred place for the Chemehuevi Paiute and Hopi people, filled with cultural sites and rock art. The area is also home to various wildlife, including Gila monsters, bighorn sheep and desert tortoises. The monument would encompass about 450,000 acres, making it the second-largest in Nevada and Biden's largest land designation.
The site's size was created by combining cultural maps and an ecological overlay. The Honor Avi Kwa Ame coalition said in a statement, "We are thrilled and overjoyed by the news of an upcoming announcement by the White House in the near future that the nearly 450,000-acre landscape known as Avi Kwa Ame will be designated as a new national monument. Earlier in November, Tribal leaders and members, monument supporters, and the general public made their voices heard about this culturally and ecologically significant proposal and the need to safeguard these resources for future generations."
