Camp Hale and Tenmile Range will be protected as the ‘Camp Hale – Continental Divide National Monument’
LEADVILLE, Colo. – U.S. Senator John Hickenlooper today lauded President Biden’s intent to designate Camp Hale a national monument. The designation comes after numerous organizations, towns, counties and businesses in the area, and around the state, called on the president to take action, including the Rocky Mountain Chapter of the Tenth Mountain Division Descendents, Tenth Mountain Division Foundation, National Association of the 10th Mountain Division, Colorado State Senate, Colorado General Assembly, Vet Voice Foundation, Conservation Colorado, Continental Divide Trail Coalition, Town of Breckenridge, Eagle County, Town of Avon, Gunnison County, Pitkin County, Lake County, San Juan County, San Miguel County, Summit County, Town of Frisco, Backcountry Hunters & Anglers and others.
“Camp Hale is being protected thanks to the efforts of 10th Mountain Division veterans and local Coloradans who want to see these historic, breathtaking lands protected for generations to come,” said Hickenlooper. “From the beginning, Senator Bennet’s CORE Act has been about helping communities protect their public lands. Today’s designation continues that effort.”
In addition to Camp Hale becoming a national monument, President Biden also announced a mineral withdrawal of 200,000 acres of BLM lands across the Thompson Divide in Garfield, Gunnison, and Pitkin Counties.
In August, Hickenlooper, U.S. Senator Michael Bennet, Congressman Joe Neguse, and Governor Jared Polis sent a letter to President Biden, urging him to use presidential authorities, including the Antiquities Act, to protect the landscapes included in the Colorado Outdoor Recreation & Economy (CORE) Act.
In January 2021, Hickenlooper, Bennet and Neguse reintroduced the CORE Act, which combines four previously introduced Colorado public land bills that have been in development over the past decade: the Continental Divide Recreation, Wilderness, and Camp Hale Legacy Act, the San Juan Mountains Wilderness Act, the Thompson Divide Withdrawal and Protection Act, and the Curecanti National Recreation Area Boundary Establishment Act.
Earlier this year the CORE Act received its first-ever Senate committee vote, a new high-water mark in the effort to pass the bill into law.
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