Basin and Range National Monument

The national monument was created by a proclamation issued on July 10, 2015, by President Barack Obama under the Antiquities Act. Obama also signed proclamations creating two other national monuments (the Berryessa Snow Mountain National Monument in northern California and the Waco Mammoth National Monument in central Texas) the same day. Basin and Range was also the second national monument to be created in Nevada in less than eight months; the Tule Springs Fossil Beds National Monument had been designated in 2014.

Senator Harry Reid and Representative Dina Titus, both Democrats of Nevada, were major proponents of protecting the Basin and Range area; before the area's designation by executive action, they had sponsored a bill to protect the Basin and Range area (withdrawing it from mining and other uses) by legislation.Steve Tetreault & Henry Brean, [http://www.reviewjournal.com/news/nevada/done-deal-obama-create-basin-and-range-monument A done deal, Obama to create Basin and Range monument], Las Vegas Review-Journal (July 9, 2015). The campaign to designate Basin and Range as a national monument had the support of Nevada's largest employer, MGM Resorts International, as well as Wynn Resorts, Barrick Gold Corporation, Rockwood Lithium North America, the Las Vegas Metro Chamber of Commerce, and the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority. Some members of the local population opposed the designation and complained of limited public involvement.{{Cite web|url=http://mvprogress.com/2015/07/15/lincoln-county-residents-outraged-over-national-monument-proclamation/|title = Lincoln County Residents Outraged over National Monument Proclamation|date = 15 July 2015}}

The creation of the national monument was applauded by Reid, Titus, and Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell.[http://newsok.com/quotes-about-basin-and-range-national-monument-in-nevada/article/feed/861955 Quotes about Basin and Range National Monument in Nevada], NewsOK (July 10, 2015). The Sierra Club also praised the designation, stating that the area was "a fitting addition to our protected public lands" because it is "one of the best examples of the spectacular basins framed by Nevada's breathtaking mountain ranges, a resting place for historic artifacts critical to understanding our nation's Native American cultural history, and home to unique plants and animals, some found only in Nevada and this region."Sierra Club, [http://content.sierraclub.org/press-releases/2015/07/sierra-club-praises-designation-basin-and-range-national-monument Sierra Club Praises Designation of Basin and Range National Monument: Monument Permanently Protects 704,000 Acres] (July 10, 2015). Conversely, three Republican U.S. Representatives from Nevada, Mark Amodei, Joe Heck, and Cresent Hardy, condemned the new monument,Jesselyn Bickley, [http://www.thespectrum.com/story/news/2015/07/10/basin-range-designation-government-overreach/29977819/ Cresent Hardy: Basin and Range designation a government overreach], The Spectrum (July 10, 2015). and Republican U.S. Representative Rob Bishop, the chairman of the House Committee on Natural Resources, called it a "surreptitious land grab" by the Obama administration.

The creation of the national monument was a setback for long-controversial plans to open a nuclear waste repository at Yucca Mountain, Nevada.Cy Ryan, [http://lasvegassun.com/news/2015/jul/10/nevada-official-says-new-national-monument-throws-/ Why new national monument could derail plans for nuke dump at Yucca], Las Vegas Sun (July 10, 2015). Previously, a U.S. Department of Energy study had looked at possible railroad routes to carry radioactive waste to Yucca Mountain and had proposed a Caliente-to-Yucca Mountain route, of which {{convert|300|mi|||}} would run through an area later designated at Basin and Range National Monument. Robert Halstead, the executive director of the Nevada Agency for Nuclear Projects, said the proclamation of the Basin and Range National Monument was the "final nail in the coffin" of the railroad project and would "really complicate life" for the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

File:NV-BARNM-MapREV.png

The Basin and Range National Monument area has geological, ecological, cultural, historical, paleoecological, seismological, archaeological, and paleoclimatological significance. The area is located in a transitional region between the Mojave Desert and the Sagebrush Steppe of the Great Basin.

Major features within the national monument include: Garden Valley and Coal Valley; the Worthington Mountains, containing the Worthington Mountains Wilderness Area; the Golden Gate Range; the Seaman Range; the Mount Irish Range; the Hiko Narrows; the White River Narrows; and the Shooting Gallery rock art site. Native American rock art at the site is about 4,000 years old.

The national monument consists largely of existing federal lands, managed by Bureau of Land Management of the United States Department of the Interior both before and after the national monument's creation. Within the monument boundary there are privately owned lands including Michael Heizer's City, a massive earth art piece similar in size to the National Mall in Washington.{{cite web|url=http://www.latimes.com/opinion/op-ed/la-oe-govan-heizer-basin-and-range-national-monument-20150517-story.html|title=Protect 'City' sculpture, Nevada habitat with national monument status|work=Los Angeles Times|date= May 15, 2015|first1=Michael |last1=Govan |first2=Brian |last2=O'Donnell |name-list-style=amp}} At the time of the monument's creation, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art held a conservation easement over the area of the still-incomplete artwork; the museum plans to donate this easement to the United States when the work is completed.

The proclamation allows for continued historic uses of the area (e.g., hunting and fishing) under preexisting regulations. The proclamation also does not affect grazing operations within the monument (including "use of motorized vehicles, construction and maintenance of water infrastructure, and construction of fences and other range improvements"). The proclamation also does not affect U.S. military uses of monument; the military will continue to use the monument's land and airspace for emergency response and training.

Fauna of significance in the national monument include desert bighorn sheep, golden eagle, and many species of bat, lizard, and snake.

• Basin and Range Province
• Basin and range topography
• List of national monuments of the United States

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• [https://www.blm.gov/programs/national-conservation-lands/nevada/basin-and-range-national-monument BLM−Bureau of Land Management.gov: official website]
• [https://www.blm.gov/sites/blm.gov/files/documents/files/NV-BARNM-MapREV.pdf BLM.gov: Map of Basin and Range National Monument]
• [http://www.latimes.com/travel/california/la-trb-nevada-basin-range-national-monument-20150710-htmlstory.html "Five things to know about Nevada's Basin and Range National Monument"], Los Angeles Times, with photos
• [http://www.protectbasinandrange.org/ Friends of Basin and Range National Monument]

{{Protected areas of Nevada}}

{{National Monuments of the United States}}

Category:Bureau of Land Management national monuments in Nevada

Category:Protected areas of Lincoln County, Nevada

Category:Protected areas of Nye County, Nevada

Category:Protected areas of the Great Basin

Category:Protected areas of the Mojave Desert

Category:2015 establishments in Nevada

Category:Protected areas established in 2015

Category:National monuments designated by Barack Obama