Army says 2007 document doesn't approve expansion of Colorado training site

A 2007 document giving the Army permission to look at acquiring more land around a southeast Colorado training site is trumped by the Army's five-year budget plan, which includes no money for expansion, military officials said. The Army released a statement late Wednesday saying the document doesn't authorize expansion of the Pinon Canyon Maneuver Site, but only allows the service to study its needs and make plans to meet them. The 370-square-mile site is used by soldiers at Fort Carson outside Colorado Springs. The Army had proposed expanding it to about 525 square miles, saying additional troops and new weapons and tactics required more space. Lon Robertson, a Colorado rancher and president of the Pinon Canyon Expansion Opposition Coalition, said McHugh didn't go far enough. Robertson said the Army should withdraw the 2007 waiver. With the waiver, "it's like they have the approval to go ahead any time they have the money," Robertson said. The Army has said the waiver was one step in an internal process, and it was unclear if any procedure existed to withdraw it. On Wednesday, the Army said the budget is a more important signal of its intentions than the waiver. "The waiver does not authorize land acquisition — it simply allows the Army to continue studying the requirements and plan accordingly," the Army's said. "Only Congress can authorize land acquisition funding."...more

If allowed to "study" and "plan" rest assured they will continue to justify expansion. Army dollars will also be spent for "outreach" (read lobbying).

To stop the expansion you should insist that the Colo. rep's continue to insert the language in the appropriations bill.

On the waiver, the Army laughably says "it was unclear if any procedure existed to withdraw it." If Udall & Bennet truly wanted the expansion stopped, rather than delayed, they would tell the Army to withdraw the waiver administratively, or they would do it legislatively.