Pinon ban

THE BAN on Army expenditures for expansion of the Pinon Canyon Maneuver Site appears safely ensconced in the 2010 omnibus federal budget bill that Senate and House negotiators have agreed upon. The ban originally was sponsored by Reps. John Salazar and Marilyn Musgrave two years ago. Since then, Rep. Musgrave’s successor, Betsy Markey, has worked to see the ban extended, and Sens. Mark Udall and Michael Bennet have given their support as well. Both senators have noted publicly that the Army has failed thus far to make a persuasive case for acquiring more land around the maneuver site which sits between Trinidad and La Junta. The site is included in Rep. Salazar’s congressional district. We concur with the senators’ assessment of the Army’s plans. It is apparent that the Army believed it could come in and do whatever it wanted to do, apparently forgetting that it had made previous promises to the communities in Southeastern Colorado when it first acquired the current property. The Army had pledged to do business in Trinidad and La Junta, but that pledge proved to be hollow. Now, if it were to make a significant expansion of the Pinon Canyon site, it would cause a severe erosion of the region’s economy. We commend Reps. Salazar and Markey and Sens. Udall and Bennet for their support of the agriculture and the communities of Southeastern Colorado...Pueblo Chieftain