Biden created two new national monuments: Avi Kwa Ame in Nevada and Kastner in Texas

President Joe Biden created two new national monuments, in Nevada and Texas, and began work to consider expanding protection of all waters around the remote Pacific islands southwest of Hawaii.

The measures, announced at the White House Conservation Summit, are aimed at achieving Biden’s goal of preserving at least 30 percent of federal lands and waters by 2030.

“We are protecting the heart and soul of our national pride,” Biden said.

Two national monuments will preserve 514,000 acres of public land. They include Avi Kwa Ame in Nevada (which means “Spirit Mountain” in Mojave). The site is sacred to tribes, including the Paiute and Chemehuevi, and provides habitat for species such as desert bighorn sheep, desert tortoises, and the Joshua tree forest.

Another new national monument is the Castner Range in El Paso, Texas. It is a former U.S. Army training and testing site with more than 40 known archaeological sites with pottery remains, petroglyphs and residential structures.

The site provides habitat for wildlife such as the golden eagle, Texas horned lizard and western rabbit owl. According to the White House, the designation will give communities that have historically had less access to public lands an opportunity to experience and explore nature.

Biden has directed Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo to consider creating a new marine sanctuary for all American waters around the remote Pacific Islands.

The project would expand the existing Pacific Remote Islands National Monument, created by President George W. Bush in 2009 and expanded by President Barack Obama in 2014.

Biden also issued an order to begin the process of considering renaming the monument and islands to honor the region’s ancestral heritage and pay tribute to Native Hawaiians.

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