Veterans Cheer Bill to Preserve the Continental Divide and Camp Hale
DENVER, CO – The non-partisan Vet Voice Foundation is cheering introduction of legislation to preserve nearly 100,000 acres of land in Colorado, including a historic military site, today. Legislation introduced by Senator Michael Bennet and Congressman Jared Polis would preserve 96,445 acres of the White River National Forest in Summit and Eagle counties as wilderness, recreation management areas, and wildlife conservation areas. It would also designate Camp Hale as America’s first National Historic Landscape.
“Protection of our public lands is vitally important to the people of Colorado, but also of prime importance to our veterans, who use these lands to heal from the mental wounds of war,” said Garett Reppenhagen, Western States Director for the Vet Voice Foundation. “Including Camp Hale in this bill also honors the rich military history of this state, and those who fought and defeated the Nazis to protect our freedom. This bill is extremely important to veterans, and we thank the Congressman and Senator for introducing it.”
The legislation was first introduced by Congressman Jared Polis in 2014, but the previous versions did not include Camp Hale. Home of the WWII-era training camp of the storied 10th Mountain Division, the Camp Hale National Historic Landscape would preserve a slice of history from the greatest generation. Ski troopers trained and learned the unique skills necessary for winter warfare, and many of the soldiers who trained at Camp Hale returned home and founded Colorado’s outdoor ski industry, including Vail, Aspen and others.
Vet Voice Foundation mobilizes veterans to become leaders in our nation’s democracy through participation in the civic process. VVF offers veterans the opportunity to continue serving their communities by finding a new mission in domestic and foreign policy campaigns that are important to America. Vet Voice Foundation is a non-profit, non-partisan organization, organized under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, for charitable and educational purposes.