Biden designates sites in Texas, Nevada as national monuments

WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden said Tuesday he is establishing national monuments in Nevada and Texas and creating a marine sanctuary in U.S. waters near the Pacific Remote Islands southwest of Hawaii. Biden called the conservation measures part of an effort to “protect the heart and soul of our national pride.”

Speaking at a White House summit on conservation action, Biden said the new national monuments are among the “natural treasures” that “define our identity as a nation. They’re a birthright we have to pass down to generation after generation.’’

“Our national wonders are literally the envy of the world,’’ Biden said in a speech at the Interior Department. “They’ve always been and always will be central to our heritage as a people and essential to our identity as a nation.’’

Biden designated Avi Kwa Ame, a desert mountain in southern Nevada that Native Americans consider sacred, as a national monument, along with the new Castner Range National Monument in El Paso. He also moved to create a national marine sanctuary in U.S. waters around the Pacific Remote Islands.

The Nevada site spans more than 500,000 acres and includes Spirit Mountain, a peak northwest of Laughlin called Avi Kwa Ame by the Fort Mojave Tribe and listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The rugged landscape near the Arizona and California state lines is home to bighorn sheep, desert tortoises and a large concentration of Joshua trees, some of which are more than 900 years old.

In Texas, the Castner Range designation will protect cultural, scientific and historic objects, honor U.S. veterans, service members and tribal nations, and expand access to outdoor recreation on public lands, Biden said. Located on Fort Bliss, Castner Range served as a training and testing site for the U.S. Army during World War II, the Korean War and the Vietnam War. The Army ceased training at the site and closed Castner Range in 1966.

Together, the two new national monuments protect nearly 514,000 acres of public lands.

In the Pacific, Biden directed the Commerce Department to initiate a national marine sanctuary designation to protect 777,000 square miles around the Pacific Remote Islands. If completed, the new sanctuary would help ensure the U.S. reaches Biden’s goal to conserve at least 30 percent of ocean waters under U.S. jurisdiction by 2030, the White House said.

Biden also announced other steps to conserve, restore and expand access to public lands and waters across the country. The proposals seek to modernize management of America’s public lands, harness the power of the ocean to help fight climate change and better conserve wildlife corridors, the White House said. Biden also announced new spending to improve access to outdoor recreation, promote tribal conservation and reduce wildfire risk.