President Joe Biden pledges to designate Avi Kwa Ame national monument in Southern Nevada

LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — President Joe Biden pledged to designate a new national monument in Nevada.

Thousands of acres of land known as Avi Kwa Ame would become the Silver State's fourth national monument. The land surrounds Spirit Mountain in Southern Nevada.

Biden made the announcement during the Tribal Nations Summit in Washington, D.C.

"When it comes to Spring Mountain and the surrounding ridges in Southern Nevada, I'm committed to protecting this sacred place that is central to the creation story to so many tribes that are here today," Biden said. "And I'm grateful that so many of you led the fight to protect it."

Supporters say the monument merits designation based on its biological diversity and cultural significance to indigenous people. Local Native American governments say the land is sacred to their people.

Rep. Dina Titus (D-NV01) sponsored legislation to designate the monument — a goal tribal leaders and conservationists have worked toward for more than 20 years.

Honor Avi Kwa Ame, the coalition of tribes, Southern Nevada residents and legislative representatives working to designate the monument, said the group was "thrilled and overjoyed" at Biden's announcement.

"This effort to expand federal protection for Avi Kwa Ame has been years in the making, and finally it is nearing success thanks to the Biden-Harris administration's commitment to supporting locally led efforts across the country to conserve important places," the coalition stated.

The nearly 450,000-acre landscape known as Avi Kwa Ame (the Mojave name for Spirit Mountain) is sacred to 12 tribes and is at the center of Yuman creation stories and spiritual ideology, the coalition explains.

It's located between Lake Mead National Recreation Area and the Nevada-California border.

Honor Avi Kwa Ame

"The proposed national monument includes petroglyphs, historic mining- and pioneer-era artifacts; rare and threatened wildlife such as the Mojave Desert tortoise and desert bighorn sheep," according to the coalition.

Interior Secretary Deb Haaland visited the site in September. Appointed by Biden, she's been at the forefront of efforts to promote the perspectives of indigenous communities in federal land management. Those efforts recently included the removal of a racist slur for Native women from the names of hundreds of landmarks across the country, including here in Southern Nevada.

The Antiquities Act of 1906 allows the president to designate national monuments, with no action needed from Congress.

Now, supporters wait to see what the president's designation will look like.