President Biden Takes Action for Camp Hale and the Thompson Divide!

Colorado has a new national monument and the process has begun to protect 225,000 acres of the Thompson Divide for 20 years!

From the Winter 2022 Issue of Wild Works.

It still feels a bit surreal to write that sentence, but the Wilderness Workshop team is proud to report two landscapes we have been working to protect for over a decade achieved major victories after President Biden used his executive authority this fall! For many years we’ve worked on various pieces of federal legislation that would protect lands throughout the White River National Forest, including the Thompson Divide and lands along the Continental Divide. Since 2019, our efforts have focused on advocating for passage of the Colorado Outdoor Recreation & Economy (CORE) Act, which would protect these special places as part of a 400,000-acre public lands bill that includes new wilderness, mineral withdrawals, and other designations.

Despite bipartisan support and passing the House of Representatives 5 times, this bill has struggled to find a path forward in an evenly divided Senate. In August, the CORE Act’s champions – Senators Bennet and Hickenlooper, Representative Neguse, and Governor Polis – sent a letter calling on the Biden Administration to use executive action to advance needed protections for some areas included in the bill.

Of particular interest to WW, the letter called on President Biden to use his authority under the Antiquities Act to designate Camp Hale and the Tenmile Range as the Camp Hale-Continental Divide National Monument. “The history of this area, including the role that it played in preparing the 10th Mountain Division for some of the most difficult moments of World War II, makes it the ideal candidate for a national monument designation.” Additionally, the letter called for the protection of the Thompson Divide through a Federal Lands Policy and Management Act (FLPMA) mineral withdrawal.

In response, Department of Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack joined CORE Act champions on a visit to Camp Hale, expressing his support for executive action. Momentum continued to build in the following weeks with countless letters to the editor, opinion columns, formal letters to the administration, and a community celebration at the Colorado Snowsports Museum and Hall of Fame in Vail where 100-year-old 10th Mountain Division Veteran Francis Lovett delivered the perfect closing line “President Biden, pay attention, pick up your pen and sign!”

President Biden clearly heard Francis and the incredible chorus of other community members. On October 12 he traveled to Camp Hale to designate the 53,000-acre Camp Hale-Continental Divide National Monument. He also announced the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and US Forest Service would be moving forward with protections for the Thompson Divide! Just days later, Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland began the process to administratively withdraw 225,000 acres of the Thompson Divide from future oil and gas leasing, as well as mining, for a 20-year period (the maximum allowed under FLMPA); this began an initial 90-day public comment period.

It’s not an exaggeration to say that WW catalyzed and led the efforts that led to President Biden’s announcements – over the last 15 years we’ve devoted countless hours of staff time and expertise, forged relationships across a diverse cross-section of our community, and helped build the coalitions that lead to the protection of these public lands and waters. These years of advocacy and community organizing laid the perfect foundation for presidential action.

We’re thrilled to see National Monument designation for Camp Hale-Continental Divide, which is a fitting way to honor the legacy of the 10th Mountain Division and gives meaningful protections to wildlife and wildlands in the Tenmile Range. We’re also deeply grateful to the BLM and Forest Service for listening to our local communities and taking steps to conserve our wildlife, recreation, and ranching economy with a 20-year mineral withdrawal for the Thompson Divide. This would bring certainty to our community while we continue working for permanent protection – which remains our goal.

This is a watershed moment for WW and the public lands we work to protect – and that you care so deeply about. A huge thank you to all of you who have joined us over the last decade to advocate for the protection of these special places. Whether you signed our action alerts, attended a hike or rally, talked with friends and family, or joined us at the endless public meetings – you made these actions possible!

Page Header Image: Thompson Divide Sunrise. Photo Courtesy Jon Mullen/Ecostock.