Administration Announces New Land Protections and Conservation Priorities

Today, Outdoor Alliance CEO Adam Cramer attended a Conservation Day in Action with President Biden. The event, held at the Department of the Interior, highlighted recent and upcoming conservation priorities for the administration, including funding for outdoor recreation, two new monument designations, and expanding access to land and water across the country.

Outdoor Alliance CEO Adam Cramer was pleased to be a part of the Conservation in Action Summit. He said, “The Biden administration has taken important steps to advance its conservation vision, and we’re pleased to see the recognition that there’s more work to do. Alongside historic investments in public lands and waters, new national monuments, and an ambitious whole-of-government approach to climate, the administration has evinced a new way of thinking about conservation. People, communities, and equitable and sustainable access to the outdoors has been central to the Biden administration’s approach to conservation. We look forward to continuing to work alongside the administration and leadership at the land management agencies to pursue these critical conservation and recreation priorities.”

From left to right: Outdoor Alliance CEO Adam Cramer, American Whitewater Pacific Northwest Stewardship Director Thomas O’Keefe, and REI Head of Government Affairs Taldi Harrison at the Conservation in Action Summit.

At today’s Conservation in Action Summit, President Biden announced two new monument designations: Avi Kwa Ame National Monument in Nevada and Castner Range National Monument in Texas. Avi Kwa Ame National Monument will protect about a half a million acres in southern Nevada around Avi Kwa Ame, also known as Spirit Mountain. Protecting Avi Kwa Ame, which is profoundly important to ten Yuman-speaking tribes as well as the Hopi and Chemehuevi Paiute, advances the U.S. goal to protect 30 percent of our lands and waters. The Castner Range National Monument will protect 6,672 acres of land that formerly served as a training site for the U.S. Army, but was closed in 1966. The areas will expand outdoor recreation access for El Paso and the surrounding area and provide connectivity with other protected landscapes.

Cramer shared, “Outdoor Alliance is delighted with the designation of our two newest National Monument, Avi Kwa Ame, also known as Spirit Mountain, in southern Nevada and the Castner Range in West Texas. Protecting Avi Kwa Ame has many benefits, among them honoring a place treasured by ten Yuman-speaking tribes, as well as the Hopi and Chemehuevi Paiute. Protecting the Castner Range will expand access to the outdoors for El Paso residents and provide important landscape connectivity in the Franklin Mountains. The scale of these protections will also bring the U.S. closer to its Conserving and Restoring America the Beautiful goals, protect beautiful outdoor recreation landscapes, and contribute to nature-based solutions for climate change.”

Along with these monument designations, the administration announced a new rulemaking at the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to modernize how BLM lands are managed and focus more on recreation, climate, and conservation priorities. They also announced funding for Tribal conservation, an update on their Conserving and Restoring America the Beautiful plan, and funding to reduce wildfire risks to communities. You can read more about the event here.