Biden Designates Two National Monuments
Federal protections expand for Avi Kwa Ame and Castner Range
Image: Dale, Adobe Stock
On Tuesday, President Joe Biden proclaimed the establishment of Avi Kwa Ame and Castner Range National Monuments. These actions will help preserve public lands, protect sacred sites and provide nature access to communities in need.
Avi Kwa Ame, also known as Spirit Mountain, is a mountain and surrounding area that is held sacred to several Native American tribes, including the Mojave, Chemehuevi, Cocopah, Halchidhoma, Havasupai, Hopi, Hualapai, Kumeyaay, Maricopa, Pai Pai, Quechan, Yavapai, Zuni, and some Southern Paiute people. A White House Briefings states “These Tribal Nations have been here since time immemorial, and the area contains evidence of human occupancy reaching back more than 10,000 years. Protection of the Avi Kwa Ame area will preserve its diverse array of natural and scientific resources, ensuring that the cultural, prehistoric, historic, and scientific values of this area endure for the benefit of all Americans.”
At the White House Conservation in Action Summit, Timothy Williams, Chairman of the Fort Mojave Indian Tribe, called Avi Kwa Ame “a place we know as our creation, it is the beginning of our traditional songs, it is the place that native nations throughout the Southwest hold sacred.”
Nevada Governor Joe Lombardo, who opposed the designation, issued a statement that concluded, “the federal confiscation of 506,814 acres of Nevada land is a historic mistake that will cost Nevadans for generations to come.”
Castner Range is an expansive area known for its Mexican poppies where Apache and Pueblo peoples, the Comanche Nation, Hopi Tribe, and Kiowa Indian Tribe of Oklahoma have lived. The area lies outside of El Paso, Texas and serves as a former military training area from 1926 to 1966. A separate briefing states that the designation will make Castner Range “a natural classroom offering unique opportunities to experience, explore, and learn from nature in a unique setting that is close to a major urban center.” The biggest hurdle to opening Castner Range thus far, has been the unexploded munitions scattered throughout the area, but the proclamation indicates a plan for clean-up efforts.
According to the Center for American Progress, the designation of Castner Range as a national monument would not only “safeguard natural springs and one of the largest alluvial fans left in the Franklin Mountains, improve wildlife connectivity, and permit additional funding to expedite increased public access through the cleanup of remaining military refuse,” it will also provide access to nature by the area’s majority Latino and low-income population.
