From the Statue of Liberty standing tall above New York Harbor to Idaho’s volcanic Craters of the Moon, national monuments protect some of our country’s most prized places and objects, and tell some of our most important stories. Mountains, islands, caves, forts, ruins and birthplaces—anywhere “of historic or scientific interest” can be deemed a national monument with a law or presidential proclamation.
They protect millions of acres of public lands and offer some of the most scenic places to climb, hike, kayak and more, but national monuments also increasingly offer some of America’s least-crowded adventures—in part because many people don’t know a lot about them.
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Mobilizing for Monuments
REI Co-op has joined the Conservation Alliance, The North Face, Patagonia, Keen, the Outdoor Alliance and more to form the Mobilizing for Monuments coalition, which encourages businesses, American citizens and everyone who loves the outdoors to act now to permanently protect our lands and waters from climate change and urban development. One of the swiftest ways to enact that big a change is by establishing and expanding national monuments.
This August, President Biden designated Baaj Nwaavjo I’tah Kukveni—Ancestral Footprints of the Grand Canyon National Monument, a nearly 1-million-acre addition to monument lands, thanks to an awareness initiative and campaign that has been led by 12 Indigenous tribes in the area. Now, through our REI Cooperative Action Network, we’re working with Mobilizing for Monuments to urge Biden to establish, expand and protect several more national monuments, including California’s San Gabriel Mountains National Monument and Berryessa Snow Mountain National Monument and Colorado’s Dolores River Canyon Country National Monument.
Together, we can join voices to support national monument designations across the U.S. Protecting the country’s remaining wild places and outdoor spaces, preserving cultural and historical sites, improving opportunities for recreation, getting more citizens outdoors and growing the economies of in-need communities—these are matters in everyone’s interest.
Join the REI Cooperative Action Network in advocating for America’s most precious places and learn more about how you can continue advocating for new and expanded national monuments.