Avi Kwa Ame
Date: 02/10/2022
State: NV
Issues: National Parks, Wild Lands, Wildlife
Partners: Boulder City, Nevada, Conservation Lands Foundation, Nevada Conservation League, University of Nevada
Airport Origin : Boulder City, NV
Mission
Fly conservation partners, students, Rep. Titus' staff, and other policy-influencers to educate and advocate for protection of Avi Kwa Ame under National Monument designation.
Due to the dedication and hard work by our conservation partners, on February 17th US Representative Dina Titus (NV) introduced legislation to protect Avi Kwa Ame! The proposed Avi Kwa Ame (Mojave name for Spirit Mountain) National Monument contains some of the most visually stunning, biologically diverse, and culturally significant lands in the entire Mojave Desert. Monument designation will protect an essential corridor that connects the Mojave National Preserve, Castle Mountains, Mojave Trails National Monuments, and Dead Mountain Wilderness Area in California to the Lake Mead National Recreation Area in Nevada and the Colorado Plateau. This will serve as a contiguous block of habitat of sufficient quality and quantity to promote the survival, growth, reproduction, and maintenance of viable populations of Mojave Desert flora and fauna. Further, this designation will enhance recreational experiences. This designation will protect nearly 450,000 acres of wild lands and create more opportunity for hiking, backpacking, wildlife viewing, scenic driving, hunting, horseback riding, as well as opportunities for solitude and star-gazing.
Avi Kwa Ame is a significant cultural landscape. The entire area is considered sacred by the nine Yuman speaking tribes as well as the Hopi and Chemehuevi Paiute. For the Yuman tribes, the area is empirically tied to their creation, cosmology, and well-being. Spirit Mountain, called Avi Kwa Ame by the Mojave Tribe, is located on the eastern boundary of the proposed Monument. It is designated a Traditional Cultural Property on the National Register of Historic Places in recognition of its religious and cultural importance.