The White House recently announced that a combined 514,000 acres of land is now under federal conservation protection.
The Castner Range National Monument, located in El Paso, Texas, is set to be established through the signing of a proclamation by President Joe Biden; a March 21 release from the White House said. The southern section of the Franklin Mountain range, situated just outside El Paso, comprises 6,672 acres of high-desert mountains that constitute the Castner Range National Monument. In addition, the president will instruct Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo to explore the possibility of utilizing her authority to safeguard all American waters surrounding the Pacific Remote Islands.
The Avi Kwa Ame National Monument, located in Nevada, is also set to be established through Biden's proclamation. Approximately 80 miles south of Las Vegas, the monument covers an area of 506,814 acres in the southern tip of Nevada.
"This designation will honor Tribal Nations and Indigenous peoples by protecting this sacred Nevada landscape and its historically and scientifically important features, while conserving our public lands and growing America’s outdoor recreation economy," the release said.
Biden appears to be following his "30x30" goal by using executive authority to conserve 30% of lands and water by the year 2030, a November Center for American Progress (CAP) report said. The report suggested the following eight actions: 1. Designate new national monuments. 2. Designate national marine sanctuaries. 3. Conserve high-value Bureau of Land Management (BLM) lands through rulemaking and planning. 4. Issue a national forest climate rule and conserve old forests across public lands. 5. Create and expand national wildlife refuges. 6. “Withdraw” sensitive and sacred lands from future drilling and mining. 7. Restore protections and pursue Indigenous-led conservation opportunities for BLM lands in Alaska. 8. Harness new funding for conservation.
Opponents of the Biden administration's 30x30 initiative cite that the president is skirting the National Environmental Protection Act, which requires the federal government to develop an Environmental Impact Statement for significant federal actions and provide an opportunity for public comment.
"If a minor project like building a shed in a national park requires an Environmental Impact Statement, surely a massive endeavor like locking up 30% of the landmass and waters of the entire United States requires one," U.S. Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-CO) said in a 2022 press release. "This is the largest land grab in American history, and the American public deserves far more transparency from the Biden regime."
