The Camp Hale-Continental Divide designation offers an opportunity to protect an ecological important area and wildlife corridor that provides recreational access for visitors and nearby communities. As a training camp for the U.S. military’s 10th Mountain Division, Camp Hale helped seed Colorado’s ski industry and it also housed an all-white male unit of soldiers commended for their bravery. The determination of the soldiers trained at Camp Hale is to be lauded and a Camp Hale National Monument provides an opportunity to explore and further understand the history of segregation in the U.S. military and offer an opportunity to highlight the contributions of women, Hispanic, Black and other non-white soldiers including those in the more contemporary non-segregated 10th Mountain Division. Camp Hale holds intrinsic value as part of God’s creation, helps visitors and nearby communities connect to God’s creation and allows for our story as a nation to be told through the land. The Camp Hale – Continental Divide offers a unique opportunity to tell an important story in our nation’s history and preserve a valuable part of God’s earth. Additional national monument designations, particularly those that tell fuller and underheard stories of American history, are needed.
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