FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: March 21, 2023
Contact: Will Pregman, wpregman@battlebornprogress.org, 702.752.0656
Avi Kwa Ame Supporters Await Designation from President Biden Today at Conservation Summit
WASHINGTON D.C. – Early this morning, documents made public on the White House website confirmed that President Joe Biden will designate Avi Kwa Ame, in southern Nevada, as a new national monument during today’s White House Conservation in Action Summit. In response, the Honor Avi Kwa Ame coalition issued the following statement:
“As of this morning, we are overjoyed to learn that President Joe Biden will be signing a proclamation to designate Avi Kwa Ame as a new national monument during today’s Conservation in Action Summit. A little over 100 days since President Biden made the commitment to protect Avi Kwa Ame at last Fall’s Tribal Nations Summit, it’s with deep gratitude toward the President and his administration that we see this designation through. The President’s action today will 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. Many of our coalition members have traveled to the nation’s capital to witness this historic designation today, as have members of the Tribal governments who have organized and spoken out for protection for Avi Kwa Ame for years prior. We look forward to President Biden making this designation official this afternoon, and want to once again thank him, his administration, the Interior Department, and Nevada’s congressional delegation. Together, we will honor Avi Kwa Ame today – from its rich Indigenous history, to its vast & diverse plant and wildlife, to the outdoor recreation opportunities created for local cities and towns in southern Nevada by a new gorgeous monument right in their backyard.”
About Honor Avi Kwa Ame: A coalition of tribes, local Searchlight, Boulder City and Laughlin residents, the Nevada Legislature, conservation groups, recreation interests, and others are working to establish the Avi Kwa Ame National Monument to permanently protect these treasured lands. Avi Kwa Ame is the Mojave name for Spirit Mountain and the surrounding landscape. The mountain, located on the eastern boundary of the proposed monument, and the surrounding landscape are sacred to twelve Native American tribes.
For a full list of Avi Kwa Ame National Monument supporters, click here.
About Avi Kwa Ame (Pronunciation: Ah-VEE kwa-meh): Sacred to 12 tribes, the proposed Avi Kwa Ame National Monument is at the center of Yuman creation stories and spiritual ideology and deserves permanent protection. Located between the Lake Mead National Recreation Area and the Nevada/California border, Avi Kwa Ame, the Mojave name for Spirit Mountain, could be Nevada’s 4th national monument. Covering hundreds of thousands of acres in southwestern Nevada, it is rich in both history and beauty. 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.
To learn more, visit www.honoravikwaame.org. Follow along on social media on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter
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