Newly Designated National Monuments Honor Tribal Nations and Indigenous Peoples Colorado, Nevada, Texas
CASE STUDY
ceased training at the site and closed Castner Range in 1966. Once the area is sufficiently remediated to be safe for public access, Castner Range will offer unique opportunities for the El Paso community to experience, explore, and learn from nature. President Biden is committed to expanding access to nature for underserved communities that have historically had less access to public lands, like those bordering Castner Range. Protecting Castner Range connects the area with the Franklin Mountains State Park, creating continuous habitat for wildlife and improved public access for outdoor recreation. Castner Range also hosts significant cultural sites documenting the history of Tribal Nations, including the Apache and Pueblo Peoples and the Comanche Nation, Hopi Tribe, and Kiowa Indian Tribe of Oklahoma. These designations protect sacred landscapes and their historically and scientifically important features, while conserving public lands and growing America’s outdoor recreation economy.
As part of the Biden-Harris Administration’s commitment to
division—that helped liberate Europe in World War II. The area lies within the ancestral homelands of the Ute Tribes, along the Continental Divide in north- central Colorado, and is treasured for its historical and spiritual significance, stunning geological features, abundant recreation opportunities, and rare wildlife and plants. The area’s mountains and valleys also shaped the modern outdoor recreation economy and is home to many of Colorado’s iconic ski areas. Avi Kwa Ame is considered to be among the most sacred places on Earth by the Mojave, Chemehuevi, and some Southern Paiute People. It is also important to other Tribal Nations and Indigenous Peoples including the Cocopah, Halchidhoma, Havasupai, Hopi, Hualapai, Kumeyaay, Maricopa, Pai Pai, Quechan, Yavapai, and Zuni Tribes. Its scenic peaks include
Avi Kwa Ame (Spirit Mountain), which is designated as a Traditional Cultural Property on the National Register of Historic Places in recognition of its religious and cultural importance. The designation of the new national monument creates one of the largest contiguous areas of protected wildlife habitat in the United States, tying together the protected lands of the Mojave Desert in California to the southwest with the Lake Mead National Recreation Area and other protected areas to the east near the Colorado River. The national monument spans approximately 506,814 acres of lands managed by the Bureau of Land Management, Bureau of Reclamation, and National Park Service. Located on Fort Bliss, Castner Range served as a training and testing site for the Army during World War II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War. The Army
Newly designated Avi Kwa Ame National Monument ceremony in April 2023 (DOI)
Top: Tribal members participate in a blessing in celebration of the designation of Avi Kwa Ame National Monument. (DOI) Center: Interpetive signs inform visitors to be respectful of a petroglyph site sacred to Tribes. (DOI)
honoring Tribal Nations and Indigenous Peoples, President Joe Biden has signed proclamations establishing the Camp Hale- Continental Divide National Monument in Colorado, Avi Kwa Ame National Monument in Nevada, and the Castner Range National Monument in Texas. President Theodore Roosevelt first used the Antiquities Act in 1906 to designate Devils Tower National Monument in Wyoming. Since then, 18 Presidents of both parties have used this authority to protect unique natural and historic features in America, including the Grand Canyon, the Statue of Liberty, and Colorado’s Canyons of the Ancients. Camp Hale forged the elite soldiers of the famed 10th Mountain Division—the Army’s first and only mountain infantry
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IN A SPIRIT OF STEWARDSHIP: A Report on Federal Historic Properties • 2024 | 39
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