Spirit Mountain area, known as Avi Kwa Ame, receives protections, while process starts to create new national marine sanctuary in Pacific islands
In the largest land conservation act of his presidency so far, President Biden on Tuesday established a new national monument in the Mojave Desert along California’s border with Nevada, protecting an area sacred to Native American tribes that is also home to big horn sheep, Joshua tree forests, desert tortoises, ancient petroglyphs and other unique features.
The area is named the Avi Kwa Ame National Monument, which in the Mojave language means “Spirit Mountain.” Hiking, mountain biking, horse riding, camping, hunting, driving on existing roads and other current uses are not affected by the new monument designation. But new development, including mining operations, solar farms, wind farms or oil and gas drilling will be prohibited.
Under the 1906 Antiquities Act, signed by President Theodore Roosevelt to reduce looting and theft of Indian pottery and artifacts in New Mexico and other areas, presidents can establish national monuments by proclamation, without approval from Congress. Along those lines, Biden also on Tuesday issued an to require the Commerce Department to start the process to establish a new national marine sanctuary across the remote island areas southwest of Hawaii. The potential new sanctuary would be enormous — 497 million acres, an area fives the size of California — and would include the existing Pacific Remote Islands Marine National Monument that Bush established in 2009 and other currently unprotected submerged lands, atolls, reefs and waters.
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