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Yesterday, President Joe Biden signed a proclamation to create Colorado's Camp Hale-Continental Divide National Monument, his first new national monument. Now that he has demonstrated a willingness to listen to Westerners and use his authority under the Antiquities Act to support locally-led conservation efforts, the question is, where will he go next?
“Today’s proclamation is a downpayment on President Biden’s America the Beautiful initiative,” said Center for Western Priorities Executive Director, Jennifer Rokala. “Protecting 30 percent of America’s lands and waters by the end of the decade will require using every tool available, and the Antiquities Act is one of the most important.”
While conservation advocates cheered the Camp Hale designation, many seized the opportunity to encourage President Biden to support other local and Indigenous-led efforts across the country. In particular, advocates point to proposals for protecting Castner Range, a former military training ground encompassing more than 7,000 acres of open space in northern El Paso, Texas, and Avi Kwa Ame, the Mojave name for “Spirit Mountain” and the surrounding landscape in southern Nevada held sacred by 10 tribes.
Speaking during the Camp Hale signing ceremony, President Biden said, “These treasured lands tell the story of America.” Over the next two years, President Biden has an opportunity to define his conservation legacy. By investing in America's public lands and establishing more national monuments, the Biden administration can tackle the climate and nature crises head-on, and create a 21st Century vision for America’s public lands.
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For over 100 years, places like the Grand Canyon have been protected using the Antiquities Act. I encourage the president to consider other special places that could benefit from these same protections, including those named in widely supported bills that have passed the House numerous times.”
