President Joe Biden , a mountainous area in Nevada that鈥檚 revered by many tribes, as a national monument Tuesday, putting him closer to achieving his . Biden's initiative aims to protect at least 30 percent of the United States鈥� lands and waters by 2030. Tuesday's designation will protect over 500,000 acres of land from mining or energy development projects.
Otherwise known as Spirit Mountain, the area is sacred to 10 Yuman speaking tribes and other Indigenous peoples. It is also home to one of the largest Joshua tree forests and provides habitats for species like .
Biden鈥檚 speech was greeted with loud cheers as he talked about the importance of the land to Indigenous peoples.
鈥淚t's a place of reverence. It's a place of spirituality. It's a place of healing,鈥� he said. 鈥淎nd now we recognize it for the significance it holds and be preserved forever.鈥�
Biden also emphasized that this designation protects the land for many farming communities, outdoor recreation businesses and generations of people to come.
鈥淲e're the United States of America,鈥� he said, 鈥渁nd we owe to our children and our grandchildren and our great, great grandchildren and all to come, what we have and what we can preserve.鈥�
Taylor Patterson, a member of the Bishop Paiute tribe, attended the meeting and was excited to watch a tribally-led project get pushed forward.
鈥淲e waited over a hundred days and so it felt like the day was never going to get here,鈥� said Patterson, who is also the executive director of the Native Voters Alliance of Nevada. 鈥淪o it was amazing to see it finally happening鈥 think it's just such a turn of events really, and I hope there's more to come.鈥�
Before this designation, Spirit Mountain was listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Now, the mountain and the area surrounding it are protected.
Patterson said the Southern Paiute tribe was happy to see the protection of the , a route that was used for trading and extends through Utah, Arizona and California.
鈥淲e still had a sort of donut hole 鈥� that lacked any formal protection at all,鈥� she said. 鈥淪o this helps create continuity between all of the protected places and also really just formalizes the protection of everything surrounding Spirit Mountain itself.鈥�
Patterson said this effort could not have succeeded without multiple organizations and tribes coming together.
鈥�I hope that the public really looks at this and doesn't take it as like, 鈥極h, this was some overreaching federal land grab,鈥欌€� she said. 鈥淭his was something that was very grassroots and done from the communities that were involved.鈥�
Many environmental groups applauded Biden鈥檚 efforts.
鈥淭oday is a great day for Western public lands,鈥� said Jennifer Rokala, executive director of the Center For Western Priorities. 鈥淚'm just really pleased to see him follow through on his commitment today. It's been years in the making as local leaders in Nevada really push to have this area protected.鈥�
Other environmental groups are skeptical of Biden鈥檚 approach to the environment. Some groups protested outside the Interior Department鈥檚 headquarters during the meeting as a response to the
Yet, Rokala supports the president鈥檚 actions.
鈥淚 think the president's commitment to protecting and conserving public lands and waters is real,鈥� she said. 鈥淭he Willow decision is unfortunate, but I think today's announcement is a big day to celebrate.鈥�
She added that this could lead Biden to protect other public and tribal lands in the West.
鈥淲e've seen that in that there is broad bipartisan support for the protection of more public lands as national parks, national monuments and national wildlife refuges,鈥� Rokala said.
Patterson noted that Biden was influential in taking the first step to in 2021 after former President Donald Trump reduced the monument by 1.1 million acres. She has high hopes that Avi Kwa Ame will not be the last designation.
鈥淚 hope this is just the next step in a long line of tribally led projects and hopefully more management and stewardship,鈥� she said.
The president also designated Texas鈥� Castner Range, a former World War II Army training site, as a national monument.
This story was produced by the Mountain West 暗黑爆料 Bureau, a collaboration between Wyoming Public Media, Nevada Public Radio, Boise State Public Radio in Idaho, KUNR in Nevada, the O'Connor Center for the Rocky Mountain West in Montana, KUNC in Colorado, KUNM in New Mexico, with support from affiliate stations across the region. Funding for the Mountain West 暗黑爆料 Bureau is provided in part by the .
