President Joe Biden on Wednesday traveled to Colorado’s Camp Hale in Leadville to designate the first national monument of his presidency, saying its significance “goes well beyond the people of Colorado.”
“When I served as senator and vice president, Jill and I made sure to take our children and grandchildren to national parks all around the country,” Biden said Wednesday, standing before a backdrop of swaying green pines and other trees that already dropped their leaves ahead of the Rocky Mountain winter.
“They are treasures and wonders that define the identity of us as a nation,” he continued. “They are a birthright that we pass down from generation to generation, and they unite us and that’s what today is all about. We’re doing it not just for today, but for all the ages.”
In establishing the Camp Hale – Continental Divide National Monument, Biden preserved a World War 2-era alpine training site where soldiers of the 10th Mountain Division trained in the harsh, wintry conditions of the Rocky Mountains in preparation for fighting in the Italian Alps during the war. After the war, many returned to Colorado and played pivotal roles in the founding of the state’s ski industry.
“After the war ended. Camp Hale became the hub for innovation and winter warfare. And even when it closed in 1965, many veterans returned to the area,” the president said. “Some became scientists who studied rock glaciers, endangered animals and wetland forests. Many returned to heal their wounds both visible and invisible, seeking solace and serenity in ways that only nature can do. Other veterans returned to build world famous ski resorts, as you all know, and outdoor recreational industries that define Colorado today.”
While most national monuments protect extraordinary natural landscapes, there are at least 12 other military sites designated as national monuments by other presidents.
“When you think of the natural beauty of Colorado and the history of our nation, you’ll find it here,” Biden said.
President Biden was joined by Sen. Michael Bennet on his trip, a Democrat running for reelection who currently sits at a comfortable seven-point lead ahead of his opponent, Republican Joe O’Dea, according to a polling average compiled by FiveThirtyEight.
Bennet had long pushed the president to preserve Camp Hale, particularly after a far more sweeping conservation bill known as the CORE Act stalled in Congress. That legislation was opposed by many of the state’s Republican politicians. Some, most prominently Rep. Lauren Boebert, have also objected to the Camp Hale preservation, warning it could lock up land that could be used for mining or timber harvesting.
The president’s stop in Colorado Wednesday is part of a three-state swing out West this week. Later Wednesday, Biden heads to California, where he will hold a pair of events promoting two of his most significant legislative achievements and headline a fundraiser for the House Democrats’ campaign arm.
Finally, Biden will stop in Oregon, where Democrats’ grip on the governor’s mansion in Salem is being threatened by an unaffiliated candidate who has captured double-digit support in polling, giving an opening for a Republican to win the race outright in November. Early voting starts in Oregon and Colorado next week and is already underway in California.
He is notably staying away from states where his presence could hurt Democrats; on this trip he’s skipping Nevada and Arizona, where incumbent Democratic senators are battling tough reelection bids.
Democratic candidates have also been far more likely to appear with Biden if it’s an official White House event underscoring their achievements, such as the groundbreaking for a computer chip facility in suburban Ohio that was aided tremendously by the law that bolsters domestic semiconductor production.
That was the approach in Colorado, where Bennet stood alongside Biden to tout the designation.
“You have excellent taste, Mr. President, for your administration’s first national monument designation,” Bennet said Wednesday. “Your designation means more Americans will come to appreciate the extraordinary history of this place — a history that goes back to before when Colorado was a state.”
Meanwhile, Bennet’s opponent dismissed Biden’s visit as “a political stunt.”
“It’s not changing our economy. It’s not changing the price of gas,” O’Dea said in an interview of the Camp Hale designation. He added that while “Camp Hale’s a special place,” its preservation should have come through Congress. O’Dea called Biden’s unilateral action a “usurpation of power.”
