It’s here! President Joe Biden designated his first national monument today in Colorado – the Camp Hale-Continental Divide National Monument.
Our country’s newest national monument, located just two hours west of Denver, honors our nation’s veterans and their contribution to our military legacy by protecting the place, Camp Hale, where the 10th Mountain Division trained during World War II. The Monument also includes protections for the vast mountainous Tenmile Range, where soldiers became experts in alpine and winter warfare.
And there’s more! Biden’s announcement also included his administration’s intent to initiate a 20-year mineral withdrawal for the Thompson Divide planning area. These actions will provide certainty for local communities until permanent protections become law.
All of President Biden’s action today heeded the calls from Colorado veterans, elected officials, business owners, hunters and anglers, and other community members in the state and throughout the nation.
One of those individuals calling on President Biden was 100 year old, 10th Mountain Division veteran Francis Lovett, who recalled his experience at Camp Hale during an interview with KOAA New5 saying:
“There’s something about being part of these natural surroundings. That just makes you better if you survived it, because it’s not kind always, but it’s always appreciated. Soldiers trained during some harsh Colorado winter conditions.”
Lovett and many throughout Colorado and the country are celebrating this momentous occasion.
Camp Hale-Continental Divide National Monument was designated using the Antiquities Act, an important conservation and preservation tool, used by 18 presidents since it was first signed into law. Since 1906, the Antiquities Act has been an invaluable tool the President can use to protect many of our most iconic and treasured public lands and waters. This includes sites ranging from the Bears Ears to the Grand Canyon to the Stonewall Inn. These natural, cultural and historic sites, lands of great scientific value, and ocean waters are not only places on a map, but also contribute to telling often-untold stories and a full history of the United States. The Antiquities Act protects these places so the stories and experiences can be told and felt for generations to come.
As we honor the legacy, bravery, and ingenuity of the 10th Mountain Division veterans, we must also acknowledge that in the 1940s the Army was racially segregated, women were not allowed to serve, and LGBTQ individuals were not recognized. Although those stories will never be written because they were not permitted to exist, this designation provides an opportunity for individuals of all backgrounds to create their own stories and experiences on the landscape.
President Biden also has an opportunity to memorialize and honor stories of those who have been systematically marginalized, and protect public lands and waters, through further national monument designations. This includes Castner Range in Texas, Avi Kwa Ame in Nevada, Black Wall Street in Oklahoma, the site of the Springfield Race Massacre in Illinois, and the expansion of the Pacific Remote Islands in the Central Pacific Ocean.
We look forward to celebrating many more monument designations in the near future with all of you!