In 2023, President Joe Biden created four new national monuments. These are monuments established by the federal government to protect areas with historic, cultural, or scientific significance.
One location is Avi Kwa Ame, or Spirit Mountain, in southern Nevada. It is home to some of the world’s largest Joshua trees—which are found only in the Mojave Desert. It is also sacred to multiple Indigenous nations. Another new monument is Castner Range, a mountain range in Texas that contains archaeological sites, former Army training grounds, and many desert species. The newest monument is Baaj Nwaavjo I’tah Kukveni, near the Grand Canyon in Arizona, which includes several Native tribes’ homelands.
“Our country’s natural treasures define our identity as a nation,” said President Biden at a summit in Washington, D.C.