ESenators Seek Army Promise on no Pinon Canyon Expansion

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Colorado's U.S. senators want the Army to shun expansion of Fort Carson's Piñon Canyon Maneuver Site -- and the promise, they say, must be in writing.

U.S. Sens. Michael Bennet and Mark Udall made the request Thursday afternoon in a letter to Army bosses. While Army leaders have said plans to add 100,000 acres to the 235,000 acre training site are shelved, that's not good enough, the senators wrote.

"We ask for your assurances in writing that the Army is not planning to expand the Piñon Canyon Maneuver Site," the senators wrote.

The senators said written assurances would take pressure off ranchers who remain unsure of whether the Army will eventually seek their land.

Five years ago, the Army began pursuing growth of the training site east of Trinidad in Las Animas County. The expansion plans hit a brick wall of opposition from area ranchers who rallied political opposition, including a congressional funding ban.

The push is on now to drive a wooden stake through the project with a binding agreement from the Army.

And the Army just may bite.

Fort Carson's Brig. Gen. James Doty on Thursday said the post has no money or motivation to seek more land.

"There really is no compelling need on behalf of Fort Carson to expand the Piñon Canyon Maneuver Site," he said.

Army bosses have been quick to say they won't need land now or within the next five years but have avoided promises.

Doty said leaders have a difficult time saying "never" regarding expansion because the Army in decades to come could be driven to purchase more land by unforeseen circumstance.

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