Bennet tells the Army to drop Pinon Canyon appeal

Sen. Michael Bennet, D-Colo., wants the Army to drop its appeal of a federal court decision in September that rejected an environmental study the Army needs to go forward in sending more troops, more often to train at the Pinon Canyon Maneuver Site. Army lawyers filed their appeal Monday of U.S. District Judge Richard Matsch's decision. The judge said the 2007 environmental study was severely flawed and inadequate, based on the Army's own past reports of damage to the range following training operations at the 238,000-acre training ground northeast of Trinidad. In a letter to new Army Secretary John McHugh sent Tuesday, Bennet said the appeal would only deepen the conflict between the Army and Southeastern Colorado residents over the expansion of Pinon Canyon. Saying Matsch's ruling was clear on the inadequacy of the environmental report, Bennet said the Army's best choice if it wanted to improve its relationship with area residents would be to drop the appeal. "Yet the Army's decision to move forward with more litigation sends a hostile message to the farmers and ranchers in Southern Colorado: The Army is more concerned about winning than repairing this relationship over the long-term," the letter said. "It's time to put an end to the adversarial relationship between these Colorado residents - my constituents - and the Army. The first thing you should do on that front is drop this lawsuit."...read more