President Joe Biden will establish two new national monuments and order a government review that could significantly expand protected waters around remote Pacific Ocean islands, as he looks to burnish his conservation record after approving an oil drilling project in Alaska.
(Bloomberg) — President Joe Biden will establish two new national monuments and order a government review that could significantly expand protected waters around remote Pacific Ocean islands, as he looks to burnish his conservation record after approving an oil drilling project in Alaska.
Biden will announce the creation of the Avi Kwa Ame National Monument in Nevada, protecting a sacred site for Native Americans, including the Fort Mojave tribe. Avi Kwa Ame, or Spirit Mountain in Mojave, is in the southern corner of the state, near the borders of Arizona and California.
Biden will also create the Castner Range National Monument near El Paso, Texas, extending protections to an ancestral home to the Comanche and Apache that was subsequently used as a training ground for the military, according to a fact sheet released by the White House.
Together, these national monuments protect more than a half-million-acres. The designations will be announced during Biden’s speech at the White House Conservation in Action Summit, being held Tuesday at the Department of the Interior.
In addition to the new monuments, Biden is planning to direct Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo to consider creating a new national marine sanctuary that would protect US waters around the islands in the central Pacific. The president wants Raimondo to initiate the effort within the next 30 days, suggesting such a project would likely be fast-tracked for approval.
The plan would help the White House reach its goals of conserving at least 30% of US ocean waters by 2030. But some worry that the designation could hurt efforts to build offshore wind farms that form part of the efforts to produce the cleaner energy necessary to counter climate change.
The tension underscores the difficult balancing act Biden has faced between conservation and energy needs. Earlier this month, the White House announced that Biden was blocking oil leasing in Arctic waters and would propose other limits in Alaska — while also authorizing the ConocoPhillips’s Willow oil project in the state, which could unlock an estimated 600 million barrels of crude.
Last week, Interior Secretary Deb Haaland defended the decision, saying the approval of the Alaska project was rooted in decisions “inherited” from previous administrations.
“I am confident that we’re on the right path, even if it’s not always a straight line,” Haaland said in a video posted to her Twitter account.
Read more: Haaland Nods to Clean-Energy Challenges After Alaska Oil Uproar
In addition to the national monuments and possible marine sanctuary, Biden is expected to release a new proposal to modernize management of public lands, as well as a strategy to conserve wildlife corridors.
On Monday, Vice President Kamala Harris announced $197 million in grants to fund wildfire prevention and planning efforts at the local level, underwriting around 100 projects nationwide.
–With assistance from Jennifer A. Dlouhy.
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