Statement: One-year anniversary of Camp Hale National Monument

DENVER – Last Thursday marked the first anniversary of President Joe Biden designating the Camp Hale-Continental Divide National Monument as the first new national monument of his presidency. This important classification protects 53,804 acres in Colorado’s Rocky Mountain from new mining and oil drilling leases, safeguarding the habitat of wildlife such as elk, lynx and bears. The public is invited to a meeting this coming Saturday, October 21, from 2:30-4 p.m. at the Vail Town Council’s chambers to provide input on the future of the monument.

Including Camp Hale, President Biden has protected nearly 1.5 million acres of land through national monument proclamations, including Castner Range in Texas, Avi Kwa Ame in Nevada and Baaj Nwaavjo I’tah Kukveni – Ancestral Footprints of the Grand Canyon National Monument. The Biden administration is also considering protecting more than 10 million acres in Alaska’s western arctic region.

Ellen Montgomery, Public Lands Campaign director with Environment Colorado, issued the following statement:

“A year ago, we were celebrating President Biden designating his first national monument here in Colorado. A year later, we are celebrating what that means. We are looking forward to working with community members, elected leaders and the Forest Service to ensure that the Camp Hale-Continental Divide National Monument sustains wildlife, protects our regional watersheds and provides opportunities for outdoor enthusiasts.

“Beyond Camp Hale, President Biden has done an amazing job of protecting nature throughout the West and Southwest, from forests to deserts and mountains. All of the new national monuments created under his watch are particularly important because we’re losing “one football field’s worth” of open space every two-and-a-half minutes, harming wildlife and people. We hope that President Biden continues this trend and protects twice as much land next year.”