Biden protects two giant US wilderness areas in fresh conservation effort
President also shares plans for new marine sanctuary in Pacific Ocean
US President Joe Biden announced on Tuesday that he has designated two giant wilderness areas in Nevada and Texas as national monuments.
“Our country's natural treasures define our identity as a nation,” he said.
“That's why our conservation work is so important.”
Mr Biden established the Avi Kwa Ame National Monument in Nevada and the Castner Range National Monument in Texas, protecting from development more than 202,000 hectares of public land.
The announcement was made during remarks at an event at the Department of the Interior highlighting his administration's environmental protection policies.
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“In my first year in office, we protected more lands and waters than any American president since John Kennedy [1961-1963],” he said.
The announcement comes a week after he approved the giant Willow oil drilling project in a remote area of Alaska, angering supporters on the left but winning approval from both Republicans and Democrats in the northern state.
Plans for a new marine sanctuary in the Pacific Ocean were also unveiled.
“He will also direct the secretary of commerce to consider initiating a new National Marine Sanctuary designation within the next 30 days to protect all US waters around the Pacific Remote Islands,” the White House press office said.
This includes putting the Arctic Ocean waters off limits to new oil and gasfields and restoring many of the protections that his Republican predecessor Donald Trump had sought to remove or reduce.
Mr Biden also said the White House would be “releasing the first ever United States ocean climate action plan to harness tremendous power in the ocean to help in our fight against the climate crisis”.
Agence France-Presse contributed to this report
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