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For more than two decades, time has been ticking on the serenity of the lands on Nevada’s southern tip. Energy projects have constantly threatened to take over the area known for some of the world’s largest and oldest Joshua tree forests, spectacular dark skies, and thriving endemic wildlife all centered around Spirit Mountain—better known by its Mojave name, Avi Kwa Ame. Along with its surrounding areas, the region is sacred to dozens of Native American tribes.
Conservation advocates are breathing a major sigh of relief this week, as President Joe Biden granted the 506,814-acre space a National Parks Service (NPS) designation as a protected national monument on Tuesday, making good on a promise from the 2022 White House Tribal National Summit.
“Our natural wonders are literally the envy of the world,” Biden said at the White House Conservation in Action Summit Tuesday, where he also gave Texas’ Castner Range the same status. “They’ve always been and they always will be as central to our heritage as a people and essential to our identity as a nation.”
The sprawling lands don't just belong to one group. According to the Conservation Lands Foundation's site are the “source of life and place of origin,” for 10 Yuman-speaking tribes—the Mojave, Hualapai, Yavapai, Havasupai, Quechan, Maricopa, Pai Pai, Halchidhoma, Cocopah, and Kumeyaay—and also sacred for the Hopi and Chemehuevi Paiute people.
Biden went on to call Avi Kwa Ame “one of our most beautiful landscapes that ties together one of the largest contiguous wildlife corridors,” noting the region’s “breathtaking deserts, valleys, mountain ranges,” as well as its “sacred lands that are central to the creation story of so many Tribes who have been here since time immemorial.” The president added that “it's a place of spirituality. And it’s a place of healing. And now it’ll be recognized for the significance it holds and be preserved forever.”
The relationship with the Indigenous communities is one that’s being put at the forefront as a co-stewardship agreement for the national monument will be developed with Tribal governments to ensure that the Tribes are involved with crucial decision making, including the development of tourist facilities, including a visitors center.
“This is truly a historic day as it signifies a change in posture towards Indigenous people from the federal government than that which we are unfortunately used to by now,” Taylor Patterson, Avi Kwa Ame National Monument Campaign organizer and executive director of Native Voters Alliance Nevada, said on Tuesday. “We are thrilled to see such a long-fought struggle come to fruition with this new monument.”
Avi Kwa Ame was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1999 as a traditional cultural property for its religious and cultural importance, deeming it “worthy of preservation,” according to the NPS, but the newly minted status gives it permanent protection, as the National Parks Conservation Association describes, under a partnership between the Bureau of Land Management and park service. Though 33,000 acres were already protected under the 1964 Wilderness Act, this new designation expands the disjointed area providing significant cohesive conservation.
“Avi Kwa Ame National Monument preserves some of the most visually stunning, biologically diverse, and culturally significant lands in the Mojave Desert,” Neal Desai, senior director of the Pacific region for the National Parks Conservation Association, says. “When considered as a whole, this connected network of public lands, from Lake Mead National Recreation Area and the Colorado Plateau through Mojave National Preserve and parks across the California desert… now represents one of the greatest desert conservation reserves in the world and serves as a significant contribution towards fighting climate change.”
For Bertha Gutierrez, Conservation Lands Foundation’s Nevada-based program director who was “overjoyed” to attend the summit this week celebrating the news, there is also an excitement around being able to share the sites with a wider audience. “The Avi Kwa Ame National Monument will be managed to protect cultural values, wildlife corridors, and natural ecosystems while supporting a variety of forms of public access,” she says. “With more visitation, the communities surrounding Avi Kwa Ame expect and welcome that gentle economic growth that comes after monument designations due to increased interest in the landscapes, which are some of the main reasons why this monument was so widely supported in Nevada.”
As national resources kick in, the area will likely open up to more hiking, backpacking, horseback riding, birding, and dark sky viewing. Gutierrez adds that simply driving around the lands “brings peace and impressive views, day and night, as the dark skies in the monument allow folks to see more stars than they would just an hour north, in Las Vegas. The sunsets tend to be particularly gorgeous in the heart of Avi Kwa Ame.” She does caution, however, that there’s limited connectivity and services in parts of the park, and to bring plenty of water, food, and sunscreen—and remember to treat the site with respect.
The designation will also help protect the area's flora and fauna—like the native Joshua trees, which date back nearly 900 years. “People often don't realize that Joshua trees take hundreds of years to even grow a few feet,” Patterson says of the Wee Thump Joshua Tree Wilderness area, where they grow. “So you are truly seeing a glimpse into the past when looking at these trees.” The area is also home to a number of endemic species—it's home to one of the largest desert tortoise habitats, and is a migratory corridor for bighorn sheep.
This week, the Honor Avi Kwa Ame website was updated with a virtual thank you note to Biden that bvisitors can sign to Biden for the new designation. “We are still celebrating the establishment of the Avi Kwa Ame National Monument, but the work of caring for this landscape as a community doesn't stop,” Gutierrez says.
“It's up to all of us to love and care for the precious places that surround us, just as they take care of us. For everyone else, just know that you can protect your favorite natural areas around your community too. If we work together, and invite everyone to help, we can create a legacy our future generations can enjoy.”
