Interior Secretary visits possible Avi Kwa Ame national monument landscape in Nevada
East side of the Highland Range in the proposed Avi Kwa Ame National Monument, Nevada
Alan O'Neill
Protection would help conserve places culturally significant to 12 Indigenous tribes
Interior Secretary Deb Haaland visited lands in and around Avi Kwa Ame, the Mojave name for Spirit Mountain, in southern Nevada today to meet with local community leaders and learn about their efforts to permanently protect the area. The Avi Kwa Ame Coalition and members of Congress invited Secretary Haaland to Avi Kwa Ame.
In response to the visit, The Wilderness Society released the following statement from Brad Brooks, Senior Director, National Campaigns:
"Secretary Haaland’s visit to Southern Nevada’s Avi Kwa Ame today allowed her to see the significant cultural, historical, and natural aspects of the lands while meeting with Indigenous tribes and community leaders who, for years, have been leading the effort to protect the area’s history, culture, and wildlife for future generations.
We urge her to share with President Biden that protecting Avi Kwa Ame as a national monument will help conserve places that are sacred or culturally significant to 12 different Indigenous tribes; protect rare plant and animal species found nowhere else on earth; connect important wildlife habitat and migration corridors; and improve access to outdoor recreation that boosts the local economy.”
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The Wilderness Society is the leading conservation organization uniting people to care for America’s wild places. Founded in 1935, and now with more than one million members and supporters, The Wilderness Society has led the effort to permanently protect 111 million acres of wilderness and to ensure sound management of our shared national lands. www.wilderness.org.
