Sunday, June 12, 2022 | 2 a.m.
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June 8 marked the 116th anniversary of the Antiquities Act, which granted presidents the authority to designate national monuments, guaranteeing our nation’s public lands will be enjoyed by future generations. The motivation for the bill was rooted in concerns about the lack of conservation for American archaeological sites and their treasured history. Teddy Roosevelt, who signed the Antiquities Act, utilized the law to designate 18 national monuments and further protected nearly 230 million acres of public land. This earned him the title, “The Conservationist President.”
Preserving these treasured spaces has always been important to me. I fought to designate Gold Butte and Basin and Range as national monuments and to protect Red Rock and Tule Springs. Now I’m working in Congress to permanently protect Spirit Mountain and the surrounding Mojave Desert region that make up Avi Kwa Ame.
The Avi Kwa Ame proposed national monument is a nearly 450,000-acre area in Southern Nevada which contains biologically diverse and culturally significant lands within the Mojave Desert. The proposed monument features dramatic scenic peaks and canyons. It is home to some of the oldest and largest Joshua trees in the world, bighorn migration routes, unique grasslands, and numerous petroglyphs and other ancient cultural sites sacred to a dozen Yuman-speaking tribes in the Mountain West.
Tribal leaders and conservationists from across the West have been working for over 20 years to permanently protect Avi Kwa Ame and have coordinated with elected officials, government agencies, Southern Nevada residents and other stakeholders to establish the proposed monument’s boundary lines. Now, with the express support of over two dozen tribes, conservation and recreation groups, business leaders and elected officials, it’s time we designate Avi Kwa Ame as a national monument. Accordingly, I introduced federal legislation in February to protect this magnificent landscape.
Not only is Avi Kwa Ame visually stunning and culturally significant, but its designation as a national monument would help boost tourism in Southern Nevada. Our outdoor recreation economy lost some 14 million visitors during the COVID-19 pandemic, and tour companies relying on out-of-state visitors cut staff by up to 70%. Establishing a new national monument would help create excitement about another outdoor recreation opportunity and would support the local tourism, hospitality and sporting goods industries. That’s why this monument has received support from the local business community, including both the Boulder City and Laughlin Chambers of Commerce.
Land conservation is a core value in Nevada. In a January poll, 79% of bipartisan voters indicated that protecting public land is important to them. Thus it is not surprising that the campaign to preserve this land has gained momentum across the Silver State.
The United States has a strong legacy of natural conservation. I want to thank the Biden administration for making public lands conservation a priority, and I look forward to our continued partnership to meet the goal of protecting Avi Kwa Ame, either through the legislation I have introduced or through the Antiquities Act.
Dina Titus represents Nevada’s 1st Congressional District and is the author of the Avi Kwa Ame National Monument Establishment Act of 2022, which she introduced in February.
