Biden traveling to Colorado to designate new national monument

President Biden is traveling to Colorado on Wednesday to establish a new national monument, the first of his presidency, at Colorado’s Camp Hale. 

Camp Hale was a training site for the Army’s 10th Mountain Division during World War II. This group of soldiers was trained on mountain terrain and fought against the Axis powers in the Italian Alps. 

The site, which will be known as the Camp Hale — Continental Divide National Monument,  is also on the ancestral homeland of the native Ute tribes. 

A White House fact sheet said that the establishment of the monument will “honor our nation’s veterans, Indigenous people, and their legacy by protecting this Colorado landscape, while supporting jobs and America’s outdoor recreation economy.”

It said that the area will continue to support recreational activities including skiing, hiking, camping, and snowmobiling. 

While outlets including The Hill had previously reported that Biden’s trip would occur, a new fact sheet provided to reporters contained additional details from The White House. 

It said that in addition to protecting the 53,804-acre Camp Hale monument, the Biden administration will also propose to bar new mining on about 225,000 acres in Colorado’s Thompson Divide area for 20 years. 

The White House said that this is because the Thompson Divide contains important  wildlife habitat, recreation opportunities and grazing land. 

The fact sheet also said that the administration would begin disbursing a portion of the Inflation Reduction Act’s funding that aims to address drought. 

Drought has sapped a significant amount of water resources from the Southwestern U.S.

A new Lower Colorado River Basin System Conservation and Efficiency Program would grant “immediate resources” to communities, tribes and “irrigators” in Arizona, California and Nevada, according to the White House. 

Joining Biden on the trip will be Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, Council on Environmental Quality Chair Brenda Mallory, Sen. Michael Bennet (D-Colo.), Sen. John Hickenlooper (D-Colo.) and Colorado Gov. Jared Polis (D). 

While Democrats and other groups have pushed for the monument designation, it has garnered opposition from Republicans, who have called it a “land grab.”