Today, May 3rd, U.S. Senators John Hickenlooper and Michael Bennet welcomed the Senate’s first-ever committee vote on the Colorado Outdoor Recreation and Economy (CORE) Act. This bi-partisan Colorado legislation has passed out of the Senate Natural Resources Committee and is now headed to the full Senate for a vote.

The CORE Act will protect 400,000 acres of public land in CO, establishing new wilderness areas and safeguarding existing outdoor recreation opportunities. Passing this bill would be a HUGE win for outdoor enthusiasts. The legislation contains a number of notable components, including the creation of new wilderness designations, new recreation and conservation management areas, and especially notable to our military community – the creation of a new designation: “National Historic Landscape” for Camp Hale.

Here are a couple of excerpts from Sen. Hickenlooper’s press release today:

“The CORE Act  combines four previously introduced Colorado public land bills, which have been in development over the past decade: the Continental Divide Recreation, Wilderness, and Camp Hale Legacy Act, the San Juan Mountains Wilderness Act, the Thompson Divide Withdrawal and Protection Act, and the Curecanti National Recreation Area Boundary Establishment Act.”

“Of the land protected by the bill, 73,000 acres are designated as new wilderness, and nearly 80,000 acres are designated as new recreation and conservation management areas that preserve existing outdoor uses, such as hiking and mountain biking. The bill also includes a first-of-its-kind designation for Camp Hale as a National Historic Landscape, to honor World War II veterans and Colorado’s military legacy, and prohibits new oil and gas development in areas important to ranchers and sportsmen in the Thompson Divide.”

Read more and take action here.