Biden designates his first new national monument
LEADVILLE, Colo. — President Joe Biden designated the first national monument of his administration at Camp Hale, a World War Iiera training site in this state, as he called for protecting “treasured lands” that tell the story of America.
The announcement is a boost to Colorado’s senior Democratic senator, Michael Bennet, who has for years advocated for the designation and is in a competitive re-election bid this November. The location is an alpine training site where U.S. soldiers prepared for battles in the Italian Alps during World War II.
“We’re doing it not just for today, but for all the ages,” Biden said, standing amid the rugged, sun-drenched backdrop as he made the designation official. “It’s for the people of Colorado, but it also goes well beyond the people of Colorado. It’s for all the people across America and the world.”
The proclamation formally establishes the Camp Hale – Continental Divide National Monument, spanning more than 53,800 acres that will be protected and managed by the U.S. Forest Service. Many members of the 10th Mountain Division who trained at Camp Hale returned to Colorado after the war and helped create the state’s lucrative ski industry, and the site is now used for outdoor activities such as hiking and camping, and is home to rare wildlife.
“Soldiers in Camp Hale learned to scale rock, ski and survive, preparing for the war they were about to fight,” said Biden, who for Wednesday’s announcement was joined by two veterans from the 10th Mountain Division. He praised the troops’ “skill, strength and stamina that could’ve been only gained in a place like this.”
While most national monuments protect extraordinary natural landscapes, there are at least 12 other military sites designated as national monuments by other presidents.
Biden on Wednesday called his designation a permanent one that none of his future successors can overturn, although previous presidents have reduced the size of national monuments. The issue of whether a president can eliminate a national monument has not been resolved in court.
Donald Trump shrank two national monuments in southern Utah, a decision that tribes and environmental groups challenged in court. Those cases had been pending when Biden restored full protections for the monuments and expanded one of its boundaries. Biden also restored protections for an area off the New England coast that Trump had opened to commercial fishing.
In a separate move, the Biden administration also announced Wednesday it is pausing new mining and oil and gas drilling on 225,000 acres of public land in the Thompson Divide, a natural gas-rich area not far from Camp Hale.
Citing a need to protect wildlife, the Interior Department said it is initiating a review of a proposed 20-year withdrawal of the area from new leasing. Preexisting natural gas leases that account for less than 1% of active federal leases in Colorado won’t be affected.