On Tuesday, President Joe Biden created two new national monuments — in Nevada and Texas — and began considering extending protection to all waters around the outer Pacific islands southwest of Hawaii.
The measures, announced at the White House Conservation Summit, aim to meet Biden’s goal of conserving at least 30% of federal lands and waters by 2030.
“We protect the heart and soul of our national pride,” Biden said.
The two national monuments will preserve 514,000 acres (208,008 ha) of public land. They include Avi Kwa Ame in Nevada (meaning “Mountain of the Spirit” in the Mojave language). The site is sacred to tribes such as the Paiute and Hemehuevi and provides habitat for species such as desert bighorn sheep, desert tortoises and the Joshua tree forest.
Another new national landmark is the Kastner Range in El Paso, Texas. It is a former US Army training and testing site with over 40 known archaeological sites with pottery remains, petroglyphs and residential structures.
The site provides habitat for wildlife such as golden eagle, Texas horned lizard and western burrowing owl. According to the White House, this designation will provide communities that have historically had less access to public lands the opportunity to experience and explore nature.
Biden has instructed Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo to consider creating a new marine sanctuary for all U.S. waters around remote Pacific islands.
This project will expand the Pacific Remote Islands National Monument, established by President George W. Bush in 2009 and expanded by President Barack Obama in 2014.
Biden also issued an order to begin the process of considering renaming the monument and the islands to honor the area’s original heritage and honor native Hawaiians.
