Praise for expected designation of Camp Hale as a national monument

The Center for Western Priorities, a Denver-based conservation policy and advocacy organization focused on land and energy issues across the West, on Thursday issued the following press statement on the potential designation by President Joe Biden next week of Camp Hale as a national monument:

DENVER — President Joe Biden plans to visit Denver next week to officially designate historic Camp Hale as a national monument, according to the Los Angeles Times and the Colorado Sun.

Camp Hale, located near Leadville along the Continental Divide, is where 10th Mountain Division soldiers trained for battle during World War II. Colorado’s governor and members of the state’s congressional delegation formally asked Biden to designate the monument, which was included in legislation called the CORE Act that passed the U.S. House last year. Local leaders in Colorado have also urged Biden to protect Camp Hale as a national monument.

The Camp Hale monument designation will be Biden’s first national monument, following his restoration of Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monuments in Utah last year.

Center for Western Priorities Executive Director Jennifer Rokala released the following statement:

“This is great news for Coloradans and military veterans, who called on President Biden to protect this important historical site and the landscape surrounding it. It’s a welcome sign that the president is listening to Westerners who want to see public lands and landmarks protected for future generations.

President Biden should build on the momentum of creating this national monument by protecting Castner Range and Avi Kwa Ame in Texas and Nevada, where locals have worked hard to put together popular monument proposals with broad community support. Westerners have made it clear that they love national monuments and are eager for more outdoor places to recreate—yet conservation legislation keeps languishing in Congress. That’s why we’re asking President Biden to pick up his pen to designate more national monuments across the West.”

Additionally, recent polling by the Center for Western Priorities found that 86 percent of Coloradans support giving national monument protections to the areas identified for protection in the CORE Act, which includes Camp Hale.

Learn more:

1. CORE Act media resources [includes photos of Camp Hale] – The Wilderness Society 
2. REPORT: Conservation action can win over the media and the public – Center for Western Priorities and Center for American Progress
3. The Antiquities Act and America’s national monuments: Frequently Asked Questions – Center for Western Priorities
4. REPORT: Conservation Gridlock – Center for Western Priorities
5. Is Camp Hale our next national monument? [podcast] – Center for Western Priorities