The U.S. Welcomes 5 New National Monuments—More on the Horizon

Recently, over 1.5 million acres of wilderness and historical landmarks were safeguarded as President Biden designated five new national monuments. These actions bring the country closer to achieving Biden’s America the Beautiful Initiative, which aims to conserve, connect, and restore 30% of U.S. land by 2030.

The latest U.S. national monuments include:

• Camp Hale National Monument located in Colorado
• Avi Kwa Ame National Monument situated in Nevada
• Castner Range National Monument found in Texas
• Emmett Till and Mamie Till-Mobley National Monument, covering areas in Illinois and Mississippi
• Baaj Nwaavjo I’tah Kukveni National Monument in Arizona

During a conservation summit at the White House on March 21, Biden remarked, “Our national treasures are truly the envy of the world.” He made this statement while announcing the Avi Kwa Ame and Castner Range monuments, emphasizing their significance to our heritage and national identity. He added that these protections safeguard “the heart and soul of our national pride, preserving pieces of history that will resonate for generations to come.”

When the United States founded Yellowstone National Park in 1872, it took a pioneering role in public land conservation—Yellowstone was the world's first national park. Since then, the nation has designated over 400 areas as protected, including national parks, monuments, historic sites, preserves, memorials, battlefields, and cemeteries, among other types managed by the National Park Service.

However, according to Protected Planet, an organization monitoring global biodiversity progress, the latest designations have only increased the total protected land in the U.S. to just over 13 percent. To meet the 30 percent target established by Biden, the country needs to conserve an additional area equivalent to roughly the size of Alaska or more than twice the size of Texas.

Achieving this ambitious conservation target will likely require diverse strategies. A Center for American Progress report states, “Conserving high-value BLM lands is one of the most significant tools America has to meet its 2030 land conservation objective.” About 10 percent of U.S. land falls under the Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Land Management (BLM), with approximately 13.6 percent of that land potentially contributing to the 30 percent goal, as it currently has protections against extraction activities like mining and oil drilling.

Jenny Rowland, director of public lands at the Center for American Progress, informed Dinogo that both the BLM and the U.S. Forest Service, which manages many crucial old-growth forests for carbon storage, have recently proposed draft regulations that “will enhance conservation on lands that might not have specific protected designations. This will prioritize conservation as a primary use and contribute to achieving the 30 by 30 goal.”

Yet, even if extensive areas of federal land are preserved, the U.S. will still need to designate new national park land to achieve the 30 percent conservation target.

“This is one of the most ambitious conservation initiatives from any administration in this country’s history,” remarked Gaby Diaz, a communications manager at the Wilderness Society, a nonprofit dedicated to land conservation. “In short, yes, we can expect to see significantly more national park land in the upcoming years.”

Here’s what you should know about the newly designated monuments and which national park units might be next in line.

The five latest U.S. national monuments

Camp Hale National Monument in Colorado

The first national monument designated by Biden during his presidency was Camp Hale, located near Vail, Colorado, in October 2022. Spanning 53,804 acres, Camp Hale gained its designation due to its historical importance to the U.S. military and the ski industry, as troops trained in skiing, mountaineering, and winter survival there in the 1940s. Many of these veterans became pioneers in the outdoor sector, including founders of the National Outdoor Leadership School, the Wilderness Education Foundation, Nike, the National Ski Patrol, and Vail Ski Resort.

Avi Kwa Ame National Monument in Nevada

In southern Nevada, the newly established Avi Kwa Ame National Monument encompasses 506,814 acres of Mojave Desert terrain, featuring Spirit Mountain (Avi Kwa Ame in Mojave), a nearly 6,000-foot peak revered by 12 Indigenous tribes as part of their creation narrative. It is only the second U.S. national monument designated to preserve Indigenous heritage, following Bears Ears National Monument in Utah, which Biden restored the boundaries of (along with Grand Staircase–Escalante National Monuments, also in Utah) in 2021, after reductions made by former President Donald Trump during his administration.

“It’s a site of reverence, spirituality, and healing, and now it will be acknowledged for its significance as a whole and preserved for eternity,” Biden remarked about Avi Kwa Ame during his speech on March 21.

Avi Kwa Ame National Monument is home to some of the oldest and largest Joshua trees in the United States, including the third-largest Joshua tree in the world, a remarkable 900-year-old specimen known as the Monument Tree. The site also features ancient petroglyphs and enhances wildlife corridors for desert bighorn sheep, desert tortoises, Arizona toads, mule deer, and Gila monster lizards by connecting with neighboring national monuments and conservation areas in the region.

“To the Native communities who regard Avi Kwa Ame as their spiritual birthplace, and to every Nevadan who appreciates the value of our beloved public lands: Today is for you,” tweeted Democratic Representative Dina Titus of Nevada, who sponsored a bill to protect the area, on March 21.

Castner Range National Monument in Texas

On the far western edge of Texas, near El Paso, the newly established Castner Range National Monument now safeguards 6,672 acres. From the mid-1920s until the mid-1960s, this mountain range served as a training ground for the Army at Fort Bliss during World War II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War. Since the 1960s, the land has been under military management and closed to the public.

This area, adjacent to Franklin Mountain State Park, will provide a larger expanse of protected habitat for wildlife such as the checkered whiptail lizard, desert cottontail rabbit, and the western desert tarantula. It will also create more opportunities for local communities to enjoy the outdoors. However, the new national monument will first need to be cleared of the thousands of live bullet casings left from its military use.

“The establishment of Castner Range National Monument is significant for both the region and the nation as it safeguards unique cultural, historical, and ecological sites,” stated Janaé Reneaud Field, executive director of the Frontera Land Alliance, a nonprofit dedicated to preserving wilderness in the Chihuahuan Desert. “Once it is safe for public access, the area will offer the community a chance to explore a remarkable landscape featuring Mexican gold poppies, alluvial fans, military history, and over 40 historic sites reflecting Indigenous ways of life.”

Emmett Till and Mamie Till-Mobley National Monument in Mississippi and Illinois

On July 25, coinciding with what would have been Emmett Till's 82nd birthday, three key locations linked to the 14-year-old Black boy—who was kidnapped, tortured, and murdered in Mississippi in 1955 after allegedly whistling at a white woman—were designated as the Emmett Till and Mamie Till-Mobley National Monument. The sites include the waterway where Till’s body was discovered, the Mississippi courthouse where his murderers were acquitted, and the Chicago church that hosted his funeral.

During an event at the White House to sign the proclamation, Biden remarked that the national monument serves as a vital means for the United States to confront the “truth and full history of our nation.”

“We can’t selectively choose what we wish to learn. We must understand what we ought to know,” Biden added, emphasizing, “Today . . . we add another chapter to the narrative of remembrance and healing.”

Baaj Nwaavjo I’tah Kukveni National Monument in Arizona

On August 8, Baaj Nwaavjo I’tah Kukveni in Arizona was designated as the newest national monument, becoming the third to preserve Indigenous heritage. This nearly 1 million-acre area safeguards over 3,000 culturally significant Indigenous sites, including Gray Mountain (known as Dzilbeeh by the Navajo), which features in their ceremonial stories and practices, and Red Butte (referred to as Wii’i Gdwiisa by the Havasupai), a site considered the sacred birthplace of their people.

“This new national monument encompasses vital natural and cultural resources, with many tribes maintaining cultural ties to these ancestral lands,” a spokesperson for the Coalition to Protect America’s National Parks told Dinogo. They added that the designation “will ensure continued access for visitors to outdoor recreation, protect cultural and archaeological sites, and help safeguard numerous threatened, endangered, and rare species that inhabit this area.”

In a statement, Biden noted that the designation “supports tribally led conservation initiatives and addresses historical injustices, including the forced removal of Tribes from lands that later became Grand Canyon National Park.”

What areas might be designated for protection next?

Conserving an additional 17 percent of U.S. land presents a significant challenge, and the Biden administration has not clearly outlined its strategy for achieving this objective. The report detailing the America the Beautiful Initiative did not specify potential areas for protection, although it emphasized that it “is only the starting point on the path to realizing the conservation vision articulated by President Biden. The direction this path takes over the next decade will be shaped not by our agencies, but by the ideas and leadership of local communities.”

Several communities have already proposed new national park units, which could help the U.S. move closer to the 30 percent conservation goal.

In Georgia, for instance, the Ocmulgee National Park and Preserve Initiative is pushing for Ocmulgee Mounds National Historical Park to be upgraded to a full national park, which would add over 50,000 acres of protected land to the existing total. However, designating new national parks is a complex process that requires comprehensive studies to evaluate the “criteria for national significance, suitability, and feasibility,” along with a congressional vote. While Ocmulgee Mounds enjoys broad bipartisan support, Congress still needs to schedule a vote; it is anticipated to become the United States’ 64th and newest national park sometime in 2023.

However, there is one form of protection that presidents can grant on their own authority. Since President Theodore Roosevelt's administration enacted the Antiquities Act in 1906—allowing the president to proclaim national monuments to safeguard nationally significant lands—18 presidents have utilized this power to designate both unique natural areas (like the Sonoran Desert in Arizona, named a national monument by President Clinton in 2001) and historical sites (such as the Statue of Liberty, designated by President Coolidge in 1924).

From the time President Theodore Roosevelt named the first national monument (Devil’s Tower in Wyoming), 243 additional monuments have been established by presidents. (President Obama designated the most, at 34.) Because this process is quicker, various communities are pursuing national monument status to protect their lands. For instance, Baaj Nwaavjo I’tah Kukveni became a contender for national monument status after advocacy from members of the Havasupai, Hopi, and Hualapai tribes, along with Arizona Representative Raul Grijalva and Senator Kyrsten Sinema in early 2023.

Many of the proposed national monument initiatives aim to acknowledge and protect Black and Indigenous history. For example, the NAACP has urged the Biden administration to protect the site of the Springfield Race Riot in Illinois, a pivotal event that led to the organization's founding. Likewise, the City of Tulsa is pushing for national monument status in the Greenwood district, a predominantly Black community that was devastated in 1921 when a white mob killed hundreds of Black residents during the Tulsa Race Massacre. Additionally, the Fallon Paiute-Shoshone Tribe has proposed designating three million acres of public land in Nevada near their reservation to protect their ancestral lands, burial sites, and other culturally significant areas. If designated, Numu Newe (meaning “the people” in Paiute and Shoshone) would become the largest national monument in the country.

Other proposals, such as those from the Preserve Plum Island Coalition, focus on ecological conservation. This coalition is advocating for President Biden to designate Plum Island in New York as a national monument to protect the many rare or endangered bird species residing there.

While there are no official announcements yet regarding the specific protections Biden is considering next, discussions continue.

Could this be a hint? Visits by the Biden administration to prospective sites.

Interior Secretary Deb Haaland toured the Tallahatchie Courthouse and Moung Bayou shortly before the establishment of the Emmett Till and Mamie Till-Mobley National Monument. Additionally, prior to the designations of Castner Range and Avi Kwa Ame as national monuments, Haaland visited these areas, suggesting potential future protections on Biden’s agenda.

“This indicates strong support from the administration, showing that they are committing resources and time to ensure [the Department of the Interior] engages with these sites directly,” remarked Diaz from the Wilderness Society. “It’s a promising sign that action is forthcoming.”