Joined by two surviving members of a division that specialized in fighting in mountainous conditions during World War II, President Joe Biden designated Camp Hale as an official national monument – the first new monument of his presidency. 

Located near Leadville, Camp Hale is where the 10th Mountain Division trained for mountain and winter warfare during World War II, becoming the U.S. Army’s first and only mountain infantry division. Veterans of the division returned to the state after the war and established Colorado’s ski areas. Camp Hale is also spiritually significant to Colorado’s Indigenous population, lying within the ancestral homelands of the Ute Tribes.

Biden signed the designation in Camp Hale, joined by state politicians and a few hundred veterans and conservation activists, including 100-year-old Francis Lovett and 99-year-old Robert Shoyer, veterans of the famed division.  

“These treasured lands tell the story of America,” Biden said. “You can just feel the power of this place when you talk about it. … That’s what today is all about. We’re doing it not just for today, but for all of the ages. 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.”

With the creation of the Camp Hale-Continental Divide National Monument, 53,804 acres of wildlife habitats and historic buildings will be protected from further development and managed by the U.S. Forest Service.

Colorado Democrats have been pushing for Camp Hale’s designation for years, particularly U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet, who has sponsored and continually reintroduced the Colorado Outdoor Recreation Economy (CORE) Act since 2019, a sweeping public lands bill that would designate Camp Hale as a national monument, in addition to protecting more than 400,000 acres of public land across the state.

The CORE Act has passed the Democrat-controlled U.S. House of Representatives five times but has so far failed to make it through the evenly divided U.S. Senate, needing the support of at least 60 senators to get past a filibuster threat by Republicans.

Since August, Bennet has delivered dozens of letters to Biden asking him to use executive action to make Camp Hale a national monument, including from U.S. Sen. John Hickenlooper, U.S. Rep. Joe Neguse, Gov. Jared Polis, 34 Democratic state legislators, four veterans’ associations, three mayors, 22 county commissioners, 43 conservation groups and 47 local business owners.

During the ceremony, Biden said Bennet is responsible for the national monument finally coming to fruition, joking that he was “worried he’d never leave the damn White House if I didn’t do it.”

“This is a historic day for Colorado,” Bennet said. “With this designation, Mr. President, you offer their service the dignity of public remembrance. You safeguard this place and its history, not only for them, but for America. And you ensure that years from now, we can bring our grandkids here and tell them the story of the 10th Mountain Division and their contributions – not only to Colorado, but to humanity.”

Hickenlooper, Neguse and Polis applauded the new national monument during the ceremony. So did several groups, such as Conservation Colorado, Sierra Club and the Pew Charitable Trusts. 

“This land is valued and the service of the 10th Mountain Division will never, never be forgotten,” Neguse said. “I am so proud that after championing the protection of this area with Sen. Bennet – who has been tireless for a decade working to get this done – we can now honor the legacy.” 

However, some criticized the move as a ploy to help Bennet’s reelection campaign.

“This clearly political trip and policy decision is the definition of an election year stunt designed to try and save a failing Democrat career politician from losing,” the Colorado Republican Party said in a statement. “It’s an interesting strategy by Michael Bennet to remind those voters that he is both ineffective as a senator and in complete lockstep with this failed president.”

Bennet, a Democrat who seeks to hold onto his Senate seat this November, , faces Republican Joe O’Dea, who has gone on record opposing the CORE Act and called the Camp Hale-Continental Divide National Monument a “photo-op” to avoid “accountability from the voters.”

U.S. Rep. Lauren Boebert, a Republican from Silt, also denounced the designation Wednesday, calling it a “land grab” to “appease Green New Deal extremists.”

“Rather than working on real issues like reducing inflation and improving the economy, Joe Biden came to Colorado today to unilaterally lock up hundreds of thousands of acres through the stroke of his pen and prevent Coloradans from using our public lands for activities that we want and need,” Boebert said.

While he didn’t directly address these claims Wednesday, Bennet maintained that the new national monument is a win for everyone.

“Your designation means more Americans will come to appreciate the extraordinary history of this place,” Bennet said, addressing Biden. “This is a victory for Colorado’s environment, our $10 billion outdoor recreation economy and the legacy of public land we owe the next generation.”

Colorado Democrats also used the designation to double down on their effort to pass the CORE Act, with Hickenlooper vowing to “get it done” within the next year.

Biden used the 1906 Antiquities Act to designate Camp Hale as a national monument. The law authorizes the president to protect public lands and waters for the benefit of all Americans. This is the fourth time Biden has used the act as president, previously deploying it to restore full protections to three national monuments that President Donald Trump reduced in size.