LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — President Joe Biden made his designation of the Avi Kwa Ame National Monument in Southern Nevada official on Tuesday.
The Fort Mojave Indian Tribe has been advocating for the monument's creation for about three decades.
The designation will preserve Spirit Mountain and the desert around it, protect one of the world's largest Joshua tree forests, and connect wildlife habitat, the White House stated.
"Look, you know, it's a place of reverence, it's a place of spirituality and it's a place of healing, and now it will be recognized for its significance. It holds and be preserved forever," Biden said Tuesday at a summit for tribal leaders and elected officials.
This comes months after Biden announced his intent to designate the long fought-for monument.
The designated area encompasses more than 500,000 acres of land, connecting the Mojave Desert in southwestern California to Lake Mead National Recreation Area.
"The national monument designation recognizes and respects valid existing rights," the White House stated.
All 506,814 acres included in the designation are federally owned, and the Biden administration pledged existing state and private lands within the monument boundary wouldn't be impacted by the designation.
What does the designation do?
Biden's proclamation "recognizes and reaffirms the State of Nevada's ongoing primary role in the management of wildlife within the monument," the White House added. It also requires that sportsmen and sportswomen be represented on a future monument advisory committee.
It further directs the Department of the Interior, led by Interior Secretary Deb Haaland, to form a memorandum of understanding for co-stewardship of the monument with tribal nations. The department should work with local communities to develop a visitor center and other facilities at Avi Kwa Ame, Biden instructed.
According to the White House, the proclamation should not prevent maintenance or upgrades to infrastructure. It also notably allows for flights "in and out of existing or future airports in the area."
The Biden administration also pledged this designation "will not slow the positive momentum of clean energy development in the State of Nevada."
What impact will it have?
A Clark County spokesperson noted the county "recognizes the need to maintain the beauty of this sacred land and has supported efforts to protect the landscape through a resolution by the Board of County Commissioners."
County staff are reviewing the president's designation to better understand its impact, "both in its size as well as to the operations of Harry Reid International Airport," officials stated.
REACTION: Biden's Nevada monument designation hailed by advocates, criticized by governor
Reactions to the monument designation were largely positive from Southern Nevada leaders and conservationists on Tuesday, though Gov. Joe Lombardo decried is as a "federal confiscation" of Nevada land.
Honor Avi Kwa Ame, the coalition of tribal leaders and conservationists advocating for the monument, said Biden's action would "safeguard hundreds of thousands of acres of cultural sites, desert habitats, and natural resources in southern Nevada, which bear great cultural, ecological, and economic significance to our state."
