JUNE 1, 2025: SHORT LIST OF MONUMENTS TO BE CUT, PUBLIC LANDS FOR SALE

Two major events that affect Avi Kwa Ame National Monument and public landscapes around the country have happened this spring. Let’s talk about what they are and what you can do right now to help protect our public lands.

The administration targets national monuments for reduction

In April, The Washington Post reported that the current administration has a list of six national monuments they’re considering reducing in size to open up lands for industrial projects and development. This top-priority list is based on a recent assessment of mineral and fuel assets that could be exploited, and is part of a longer list of monuments, including Avi Kwa Ame, known to have desirable resources.  The top-priority threatened monuments are Baaj Nwaavjo I’tah Kukveni-Ancestral Footprints of the Grand Canyon (AZ), Ironwood Forest (AZ), Chuckwalla (CA), Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks (NM), Bears Ears (UT) and Grand Staircase-Escalante (UT). 

The above monuments have not yet been altered, but the administration has made it clear that this is their priority. The Pacific Islands Heritage National Monument was already opened up to commercial fishing by a presidential proclamation on April 17th, 2025 (as an ocean monument, the ban of commercial fishing was the major protection for the area’s wildlife). This move is the start of the attack on our nation’s protected spaces.

All of our country’s national monuments are supposed to receive permanent federal protection after designation through the Antiquities Act, but this is not the first time our national monuments have been altered, reduced, and otherwise compromised. In 2017, Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monumentswere both drastically reduced in size (by 85% and 47%, respectively). In response, nearly 3 million Americans rose up in protest. This outpouring of support for our nation’s protected spaces helped lead to the restoration of those monuments in 2021. 

Avi Kwa Ame is not currently on the above top priority list for reducing or dismantling, and one reason may be because our region’s congressional representatives have expressed strong support for our protected public lands. For Avi Kwa Ame, strong community, tribal, county and state support was evident throughout our campaign to become a monument, and this made our representatives confident in what our residents want. Regular people engaging in our government processes made this happen, and it is time to again show up for Avi Kwa Ame. 

While we are currently not in the top-priority category, allowing the executive branch to reduce the boundaries or lift restrictions on any federally protected areas puts all of our nation’s protected lands in jeopardy. The whole point of permanent protection is to take these lands are off the table so that they and their resources are not for sale. 

Selling public lands to cover controversial tax bill

Late at night on May 6, Rep. Mark Amodei from Nevada and Rep. Celeste Maloy of Utah inserted an amendment in the Big, Beautiful Bill to sell off 11,000 acres of public land in Nevada and Utah. Incredibly, the sales from these public lands would go only to the federal government, and no money would go to the state or local communities. What local communities would get are more ill-cited, large-scale industrial projects, as the bill included a new “pay-to-play” environmental permitting provision that would allow companies to pay a fee in exchange for expedited permitting and certain exemptions from judicial review. 

A spokesperson for House Resources Chair Bruce Westerman said the amendment is a “product of community-driven efforts by six Western counties.” Two large areas of BLM public land within the Searchlight Township were included in this land sell-off. These lands are adjacent to the town of Searchlight and surrounded by Avi Kwa Ame National Monument, and our local communities were definitely not consulted as part of these “community-driven efforts”.

Thankfully, due to many people speaking up against rapidly selling off public lands, and the efforts of our Nevada representatives Susie Lee and Dina Titus, as well as a bi-partisan pushback on this amendment led by Congressman and former Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke (R-Montana), this amendment was voted down before the House of Representatives passed the tax bill. The bill now moves to the Senate, and there is a chance that it may be reinserted, so our vigilance is required!

How Can You Help Right Now?

• Communicate with your House Representatives and Senators and tell them not to sell off our public lands as part of the Congressional Tax Bill. You don’t have to live in Nevada to help with this – senators all over the country are voting on this legislation (you can look yours up here). Call, write, and email with urgency! Thank our Nevada Senators for their continued support of our state’s national monuments, including Avi Kwa Ame.

• Participate in the National Monuments Day of Action. Between now and June 7th, get out in nature and snap a photo of yourself enjoying one of our nation’s protected public spaces (national monuments, parks, recreation areas, etc.). Then share your photo on June 7th on social media, tag Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum, (@secretaryburgum) your members of Congress (find your reps here) and #monumentsforall, #handsoff, and #notforsale.

• Sign the Monuments for All Petition against selling off National Monuments.

• Share this info with family and friends and invite them to help support public lands.