President Joe Biden established a new national monument on Wednesday encompassing Camp Hale, a former U.S. Army base, and the site of the Continental Divide in north-central Colorado.
Biden signed a proclamation establishing the Camp Hale-Continental Divide National Monument, his first such action since becoming president, to honor military veterans and indigenous people, following a request for the monument’s creation from top Democrats in Colorado’s state government and congressional delegation. The Biden administration also announced an associated proposed mineral withdrawal of lands around the Thompson Divide, which aims to protect them from being subject to new leasing for oil and gas.
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The president on Wednesday will travel to the historic site, which served as a winter training ground during World War II. The site currently serves as a habitat for elk, deer, birds, and lynx.
Camp Hale was used to train the Army’s first and only mountain infantry division, the 10th Mountain Division, which fought in the Italian Alps during World War II. Soldiers trained at Camp Hale learned skills such as snowshoeing, climbing, and skiing, necessary to negotiate the rugged and snowy terrain.
“Their skills, grit, and endurance were instrumental in protecting democracy and fighting the spread of fascism,” the White House’s announcement said.
The monument site also covers the ancestral homelands of the Ute Tribes. The Forest Service will manage the 53,804-acre monument site and develop a management plan to protect cultural resources, the White House said.
In addition to the national monument designation, the Bureau of Land Management and the Forest Service jointly submitted a withdrawal petition and application to Interior Secretary Deb Haaland, seeking to withdraw approximately 225,000 acres in the Thompson Divide area from eligibility for new mineral leasing for 20 years.
A mineral withdrawal would not affect existing mineral leasing in the area, which adds up to less than 1% of federal leases in Colorado.
The administration has moved to withdraw other federal lands near historical and cultural sites from leasing. The Interior Department proposed last November a 20-year mineral withdrawal to prevent new leases on federal lands located within a 10-mile radius of Chaco Culture National Historical Park in New Mexico.
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Colorado Democrats had previously attempted to protect the historic site through legislation known as the Colorado Outdoor Recreation and Economy Act, or CORE Act, which seeks to protect more than 400,000 acres across the Rocky Mountains, including Camp Hale. The legislation is backed by Sen. Michael Bennet (D-CO), who will appear with Biden in Colorado.
“With every passing year, there are fewer World War II veterans who trained at Camp Hale left to tell their story, which is why it is so important that we protect this site now,” Bennett said in a statement.
