President Biden Promises Protections for Nevada’s Spirit Mountain

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But the president stopped short of designating the ecologically and cultural important region, also known as Avi Kwa Ame, as a national monument.

President Biden pledged Wednesday that he would preserve the Spirit Mountain area in southern Nevada, which contains some of the most biologically diverse and culturally significant lands in the Mojave Desert.

“I’m committed to protecting this sacred place that’s central to the creation story of so many tribes here today,” Mr. Biden told a gathering of Native leaders at a White House tribal nations summit in Washington. “I’m grateful to so many of you that have led the fight to protect it.”

“There’s so much more that we’re going to do to protect the treasured tribal lands,” Mr. Biden said.

But the president stopped short of designating the federal land as a national monument, something Native tribes, environmental groups, local and state leaders have been seeking for more than a decade. Doing so would represent the largest national monument created by Mr. Biden, but it could also put some of the most potentially productive land in Nevada off limits to wind and solar projects.

https://www-nytimes-com.cdn.ampproj.../30/climate/biden-nevada-avi-kwa-ame.amp.html
 
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Avi Kwa Ame National Monument Will Benefit Wildlife, Indigenous Peoples, Local Communities

President Joe Biden’s plan to provide national monument protections for the Avi Kwa Ame region in southern Nevada will benefit wildlife, sacred Indigenous sites, and rural communities.

“The breathtaking landscapes of Avi Kwa Ame hold sacred Indigenous sites, important migration pathways for wildlife, and new opportunities for responsible recreation and rural economic development. We applaud President Biden and Secretary Haaland for listening to the broad coalition of Indigenous leaders, ranchers, hunters, and conservationists who have been calling for national monument designation,” said Collin O’Mara, president and CEO of the National Wildlife Federation. “We urge the Biden Administration to continue to work closely with those local and Indigenous leaders as they implement collaborative management plans to steward this important new national monument.”

Avi Kwa Ame National Monument Will Benefit Wildlife, Indigenous Peoples, Local Communities
 
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President Biden commits to honoring tribes by protecting public lands in Nevada

The president pledged Wednesday to put hundreds of thousands of acres off limits to development in southern Nevada around Spirit Mountain, a sacred tribal site. A broad coalition backs the move, but renewable energy firms have raised concerns.

From the highway, Spirit Mountain — a 5,642-foot-high peak — appears gray. But, at times, it glows a majestic pink. For the Fort Mojave and 11 other tribes, these mystical rocks are the site from which their ancestors emerged.

“There’s a spiritual connection that makes us Mojave people,” said Tim Williams, chair of the tribal council. “If it’s not protected, our generation will not have done our job.”

https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-environment/2022/11/30/avi-kwa-ame-monument-nevada/
 
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Defenders Applauds Biden’s Commitment to Establish New National Monument in Nevada

"Establishing Avi Kwa Ame National Monument is excellent news for the embattled desert tortoise that continues to trend toward extinction in the face of expanding development."

- Vera Smith, Senior Policy Analyst at Defenders of Wildlife

President Biden announced his commitment to establish a new national monument, Avi Kwa Ame National Monument, in southern Nevada. Defenders of Wildlife applauds the establishment of Avi Kwa Ame, meaning “Spirit Mountain,” because it includes areas that are sacred to many tribes and very important habitat for numerous at-risk species including the threatened desert tortoise, bighorn sheep, migratory birds, and rare plants.

“Establishing Avi Kwa Ame National Monument is excellent news for the embattled desert tortoise that continues to trend toward extinction in the face of expanding development,” said Vera Smith, Senior Policy Analyst at Defenders of Wildlife. “The monument would link together key tortoise habitat in Nevada and California and creates important wildlife corridors for bighorn sheep.”

Defenders Applauds Biden’s Commitment to Establish New National Monument in Nevada
 
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‘The Place Where Shamans Dream’: Safeguarding Spirit Mountain

Less than two hours from Las Vegas, the sacred creation site for Yuman-speaking Native Americans may soon become a national monument. It’s been a long time coming.

On a clear Saturday in November, I drove an hour south from my apartment in Las Vegas to reach the Joshua Tree Highway, a 10-mile corridor that cuts through the largest Joshua tree forest in the world. The ancient, tentacled trees were a bizarre sight, but my eye kept wandering toward the horizon where a peak known as Avi Kwa Ame, or Spirit Mountain, looms high over the Piute-Eldorado Valley in southern Nevada. It was midafternoon and in the distance the rock’s light crystalline granite radiated a rosy glow. Its presence was unmistakable.

Laced with desolate canyons, Avi Kwa Ame is the mythical creation site for Yuman-speaking tribes like the Fort Mojave, Cocopah, Quechan‌‌ and Hopi. Their stories place it at the center of the universe. Soon, it may become a national monument.

https://www-nytimes-com.cdn.ampproj...nevada-avi-kwa-ame-national-monument.amp.html
 
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New National Monument in Nevada Would Sustain Indigenous Culture, Nature, and Economy

Avi Kwa Ame, in the Mojave Desert, is sacred to Tribes and vital to wide range of wildlife.

Nevada’s open spaces have significant value for many Americans, from Indigenous peoples who have lived on these lands for millennia to more recent arrivals who access the area’s many outdoor recreation opportunities and obtain other fulfillment from public lands. These benefits span many aspects of people’s lives, including spiritual, cultural, physical, mental, and economic well-being.

Indigenous Tribes, including the Fort Mojave Indian Tribe, residents, Nevada elected officials, conservation organizations, recreation groups, and others support establishing a national monument in southern Nevada to permanently protect these treasured lands from industrial development.

Members of Nevada’s congressional delegation, among other proponents, have championed the campaign to establish the nearly 450,000-acre Avi Kwa Ame National Monument in the East Mojave Desert, along the California border. Avi Kwa Ame—the Mojave name for Spirit Mountain and the surrounding landscape—is the source of life and place of origin for Yuman-speaking Tribes, including the Mojave, Hualapai, Yavapai, Havasupai, Quechan, Maricopa, Pai Pai, Halchidhoma, Cocopah, and Kumeyaay, and is also sacred to the Hopi and Chemehuevi Paiute people. Safeguarding this area would honor those connections to the earth, provide more equitable access to nature, and strengthen biodiversity and wildlife habitat connectivity.

New National Monument in Nevada Would Sustain Indigenous Culture, Nature, and Economy | The Pew Charitable Trusts
 
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Photos: Biden designates 2 new national monuments, Spirit Mountain and Castner Range

President Biden designated two new national monuments on Tuesday: the Spirit Mountain area in southern Nevada and Castner Range in West Texas.

The Avi Kwa Ame National Monument will span about 506,000 acres. Its namesake mountain, Avi Kwa Ame, which means “Spirit Mountain” in the Mojave language, reaches a peak of 5,963 feet. The area is considered sacred by several Native American tribes, and also contains one of the world’s largest Joshua tree forests.

https://news-yahoo-com.cdn.ampproje...-spirit-mountain-castner-range-172344905.html
 
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Top 5 Things We’re Celebrating from President Biden’s Historic Announcement

“Government action is critical to securing a better future for humans and wildlife – today’s actions are a huge step forward toward our vision of reconnecting, restoring and rewildling North America.”
— Katie Davis, Executive Director
  1. Designation of the Avi Kwa Ame and Castner Range National Monuments. The Avi Kwa Ame landscape provides continuous habitat for desert bighorn sheep, desert tortoise and Gila monster. National monuments must be managed to protect their important ecological and cultural values.
Top 5 Things We’re Celebrating from President Biden’s Historic Announcement — Wildlands Network
 
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Victory: President Biden Establishes Avi Kwa Ame National Monument in Nevada

"Establishment of Avi Kwa Ame National Monument is a testimony to protecting and preserving lands with not just our children and grandchildren in mind but for generations to come."

- Theresa Pierno, National Parks Conservation Association, President and CEO

President Biden established Avi Kwa Ame National Monument in southern Nevada today, during the White House Conservation in Action Summit. Avi Kwa Ame National Monument preserves some of the most visually stunning, biologically diverse, and culturally significant lands in the Mojave Desert.

Victory: President Biden Establishes Avi Kwa Ame National Monument in Nevada
 
Defenders Applauds Creation of New National Monument in Nevada

“We applaud today’s action by the Biden administration to establish Avi Kwa Ame National Monument and safeguard land that is rich in environmental and cultural value. A designation of this scale is a tremendous victory during a biodiversity crisis, especially for the embattled desert tortoise whose populations continue to decline because of habitat loss.”

- Monica Goldberg, Vice President of Landscape Conservation

Defenders of Wildlife applauded President Biden for establishing Avi Kwa Ame National Monument in southern Nevada. This national monument, also known as “Spirit Mountain,” protects nearly 380,000 acres of sacred tribal and biologically significant lands in the Mojave Desert, some of which historically has been sought for large-scale energy development. This designation also links key desert tortoise habitat in Nevada and California and creates important wildlife corridors for bighorn sheep.

“We applaud today’s action by the Biden administration to establish Avi Kwa Ame National Monument and safeguard land that is rich in environmental and cultural value,” said Monica Goldberg, vice president of Landscape Conservation for Defenders of Wildlife. “A designation of this scale is a tremendous victory during a biodiversity crisis, especially for the embattled desert tortoise whose populations continue to decline because of habitat loss.”

Defenders Applauds Creation of New National Monument in Nevada
 
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Biden sets protections for a half-million acres in Texas and Nevada

New national monument designations will protect Castner Range, a former military site, and Avi Kwa Ame, a sacred tribal area

President Biden on Tuesday designated two new national monuments, making nearly 514,000 acres off-limits to development as part of his pledge to protect 30 percent of U.S. lands and waters by 2030.

The president signed proclamations to protect Castner Range, a former military training and testing site in El Paso, and more than 500,000 acres around Avi Kwa Ame (ah-VEE-kwah-may), a sacred tribal site in southern Nevada, according to the White House.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-solutions/2023/03/21/castner-range-biden-national-monuments-/
 
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