DENVER (AP) – A proposal to make Colorado’s Chimney Rock a national monument is advancing in Washington.

The House Natural Resources Committee backed the proposal from U.S. Rep. Scott Tipton on Wednesday.

Chimney Rock is located between Durango and Pagosa Springs. Ancestors of modern Pueblo Indians occupied the lands surrounding it and the site remains archaeologically and culturally significant to many tribes.

Tipton says the proposal would still allow the site to be used for grazing and hunting as well as tribal ceremonies.

Archaeological research would also still continue.

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