Biden greeted by Willow protesters as he announces new national monuments trends now
President Joe Biden on Tuesday announced the establishment of two new national monuments in Nevada and Texas and the creation a marine sanctuary in U.S. waters near the Pacific Remote Islands southwest of Hawaii.
The president, however, was greeted with protesters against the Willow oil drilling project outside the event. He faces sharp criticism from environmental groups and youth activists over his approval of Alaska drilling project. Critics say it will dump more pollution in the atmosphere and point to Biden's campaign pledge to end new oil drilling on federal land.
Biden tried to counter the criticism by naming the new national monuments.
Both the Texas site and Nevada site honor Native American tribes and their contribution to American culture. Biden appointed the first Native American, Deb Haaland, as Interior Secretary. Her department oversees America's public lands.
Demonstrators protest against the Biden administration's approval of the Willow oil-drilling project at Department of the Interior, where President Joe Biden was making a speech
The two new monuments - Avi Kwa Ame National Monument in Nevada and Castner Range National Monument in Texas - will protect nearly 514,000 acres of public lands.
The president struggled to pronounce the Native American name of the Nevada site, finally calling it by its English name: Spirit Mountain.
As he fumbled with his words, the crowd shouted encouragement.
'Thank you. I got it,' he said to cheers. 'I just know it as Spirit Mountain in Nevada - one of our most beautiful landscapes.
'It's no small amount of land,' Biden said during the announcement at the Interior Department.
'Our country's natural treasures define our identity as a nation,' he said adding that conservation work is
