by jocelyn | Apr 11, 2023 | Uncategorized
Today, the Grand Canyon Tribal Coalition along with Senator Kyrsten Sinema and Representative Raúl Grijalva from Arizona announced a new proposal to protect Tribal access and clean water. This Tribally-led proposal, the Baaj Nwaavjo I’tah Kukveni Grand Canyon National Monument, would protect the iconic Grand Canyon region from threats like future uranium mining. Baaj Nwaavjo means “where tribes roam” for the Havasupai Tribe and I’tah Kukveni means “our footprints” for the Hopi Tribe.
The Tribal Coalition, which includes leadership representatives of the Havasupai Tribe, Hopi Tribe, Hualapai Tribe, Kaibab Paiute Tribe, Las Vegas Band of Paiute Tribe, Moapa Band of Paiutes, Paiute Indian Tribe of Utah, Navajo Nation, San Juan Southern Paiute Tribe, Yavapai-Apache Nation, Pueblo of Zuni, and the Colorado River Indian Tribes; Congressional members; and Coconino County called on President Biden to designate this area in northern Arizona a national monument.
To learn more: You can watch the press conference hosted by Ranking Member Raúl Grijalva here or read the fact sheet here.
by jocelyn | Mar 21, 2023 | Uncategorized
The official day has finally arrived! In November, President Biden announced during the annual White House Tribal Nations Summit that he intended to designate Avi Kwa Ame in Southern Nevada a national monument and last March, Secretary Haaland visited Castner Range in Texas. Today, the President honored his commitment to Tribal leaders, local elected leaders, businesses, recreationalists, and all of us by designating Avi Kwa Ame and Castner Range as national monuments via the Antiquities Act.
Take Action: Thank President Biden for designating Avi Kwa Ame and Castner Range national monuments!
Located between the Lake Mead National Recreation Area along the Nevada/Arizona border and the Mojave National Preserve in California, Avi Kwa Ame (the Mojave name for Spirit Mountain) is sacred to more than a dozen Tribes and is at the center of Yuman creation stories and spiritual ideology. The national monument includes Nevada’s largest Joshua Tree; petroglyphs; historic artifacts; rare and threatened wildlife such as the Mojave Desert tortoise and desert bighorn sheep; and Walking Box Ranch, the home of 1930s-era film stars Rex Bell and Clara Bow.
Leaders in the region have been working on protection efforts for the Avi Kwa Ame landscape since the 1990s. Over the years the effort has boasted the support of Tribal Nations; local gateway communities; Nevada’s elected leaders from Senators to local City Council members; business; recreationists; and many more communities. Thanks to their dedication, persistence, and leadership over the years today we can all celebrate.
For more than 50 years, community leaders and area residents have advocated to restore and protect Castner Range – one of El Paso’s most iconic and intact Chihuahuan Desert landscapes – for future generations. The new national monument is celebrated for its blankets of poppies each spring, protects wildlife habitat and connectivity, provides opportunity for equitable access to nature, and is home to natural waterways and arroyos that replenish the local water supply. The landscape also plays an important part in El Paso’s cultural history, dating back thousands of years to the first peoples who settled in the area.
Send a message to say thank you to President Biden, and show your support for protecting more cherished places, like Avi Kwa Ame and Castnet Range, across the country!
by jocelyn | Oct 12, 2022 | Uncategorized
It’s here! President Joe Biden designated his first national monument today in Colorado – the Camp Hale-Continental Divide National Monument.
Our country’s newest national monument, located just two hours west of Denver, honors our nation’s veterans and their contribution to our military legacy by protecting the place, Camp Hale, where the 10th Mountain Division trained during World War II. The Monument also includes protections for the vast mountainous Tenmile Range, where soldiers became experts in alpine and winter warfare.
And there’s more! Biden’s announcement also included his administration’s intent to initiate a 20-year mineral withdrawal for the Thompson Divide planning area. These actions will provide certainty for local communities until permanent protections become law.
All of President Biden’s action today heeded the calls from Colorado veterans, elected officials, business owners, hunters and anglers, and other community members in the state and throughout the nation.
One of those individuals calling on President Biden was 100 year old, 10th Mountain Division veteran Francis Lovett, who recalled his experience at Camp Hale during an interview with KOAA New5 saying:
“There’s something about being part of these natural surroundings. That just makes you better if you survived it, because it’s not kind always, but it’s always appreciated. Soldiers trained during some harsh Colorado winter conditions.”
Lovett and many throughout Colorado and the country are celebrating this momentous occasion.
Join them in celebrating Camp Hale-Continental Divide National Monument by signing a thank you letter to President Biden.
Camp Hale-Continental Divide National Monument was designated using the Antiquities Act, an important conservation and preservation tool, used by 18 presidents since it was first signed into law. Since 1906, the Antiquities Act has been an invaluable tool the President can use to protect many of our most iconic and treasured public lands and waters. This includes sites ranging from the Bears Ears to the Grand Canyon to the Stonewall Inn. These natural, cultural and historic sites, lands of great scientific value, and ocean waters are not only places on a map, but also contribute to telling often-untold stories and a full history of the United States. The Antiquities Act protects these places so the stories and experiences can be told and felt for generations to come.
As we honor the legacy, bravery, and ingenuity of the 10th Mountain Division veterans, we must also acknowledge that in the 1940s the Army was racially segregated, women were not allowed to serve, and LGBTQ individuals were not recognized. Although those stories will never be written because they were not permitted to exist, this designation provides an opportunity for individuals of all backgrounds to create their own stories and experiences on the landscape.
President Biden also has an opportunity to memorialize and honor stories of those who have been systematically marginalized, and protect public lands and waters, through further national monument designations. This includes Castner Range in Texas, Avi Kwa Ame in Nevada, Black Wall Street in Oklahoma, the site of the Springfield Race Massacre in Illinois, and the expansion of the Pacific Remote Islands in the Central Pacific Ocean.
We look forward to celebrating many more monument designations in the near future with all of you!
by jocelyn | Sep 20, 2022 | Uncategorized
In a letter sent yesterday, 100 organizations representing millions of members and supporters across the country join the Indigenous leaders and nations, state and local governments, conservation organizations, outdoor recreationists, small businesses, artists, and advocates urging President Biden to designate Avi Kwa Ame as a national monument. The letter comes ahead of Public Lands Day this Saturday, September 24 and on the heels of Secretary Haaland’s recent visit to the proposed national monument site in southern Nevada.
The letter states:
“The proposed Avi Kwa Ame national monument spans nearly 450,000 acres between the Lake Mead National Recreation Area and the Nevada–California state border. These lands feature dramatic peaks, scenic canyons, natural springs, sloping bajadas covered with ancient Joshua tree forests, unique grasslands, and a rich history of rock art and other cultural sites. The cultural, natural, recreational, and historic resources and values throughout this incredible southern Nevada landscape need stronger, permanent protections.“
by jocelyn | Jun 7, 2022 | Uncategorized
Credit: Mark Clune
Ahead of the 116th anniversary of the Antiquities Act, 92 coalition partners are calling on President Biden to use the powers granted under the Act to designate Castner Range a national monument in a letter sent to the President earlier today. Building on the leadership of Congresswoman Escobar and the El Paso community which has worked for half a century to protect the environmental and cultural resources that date back 10,000 years, the Biden-Harris administration has already made an admirable commitment towards conservation through the president’s America the Beautiful Initiative, which aims to equitably preserve 30 percent of America’s land and waters by 2030. Now, this coalition of 92 organizations and the millions of supporters they represent urge the Biden-Harris administration to make good on that promise.
“Ultimately this land belongs to our children and future generations. Designating Castner Range as a national monument would not only permanently protect the area from future development but will illustrate a significant step to expand conservation education to marginalized communities who disproportionately bear the brunt of climate impacts and historically have less access to nature,” wrote the coalition partners.
Read the full letter here.
The pride of El Paso, Texas, Castner Range is a picturesque landscape, home to sacred Indigenous sites, rich in rare plants and endangered wildlife, and when conditions are right, dotted with thousands of vibrant Mexican poppies. Protecting Castner Range would serve to correct environmental injustice in the largest binational community in the nation and create a safe area for recreation for El Paso. Currently, the community faces an inequitable access to the outdoors, as most nearby parks charge an admission fee. The letter calls on the administration to set forth a plan to safely turn this former military installation into an area for recreation, solace, comfort, and equitable access to the outdoors as well as to work with local communities and native tribes as an integral component of ongoing management.
Designating Castner Range a national monument is also an opportunity for the Biden administration to make strides on their climate goals, as conservation is the most cost-effective strategy for mitigating climate change. Already surrounded on three sides by development, implementing these protections will ensure that the fragile lands of Castner Range will be preserved for the Indigenous peoples, veterans, and binational community of El Paso that hold significant historical and cultural ties to the area.
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