Editorial: Back the ranchers

U.S. REP. Scott Tipton has seen Pinon Canyon from the Army's perspective and appropriately he plans a return trip to the area to talk with the ranchers about their concerns. The ranchers and their neighbors in towns such as Trinidad and La Junta have been fighting for years against plans to expand Fort Carson's existing 238,000-acre Army maneuver site. Rep. Tipton knows of the ranchers' plight, of course, after hearing so much about the festering Pinon Canyon dispute during his successful campaign in Colorado's 3rd Congressional District last year. Even though the Army insists that expansion plans are on hold, Fort Carson officials tipped their hand, perhaps inadvertently, that they eventually want more Pinon Canyon land by orchestrating the new congressman's tour of the site on Tuesday. Southeastern Colorado residents are committed to resisting expansion. Following the tour and briefings, Rep. Tipton reiterated, "I'm going to protect the farmers and the ranchers of Colorado." The Army never delivered on promises that the surrounding communities would benefit economically from the original Pinon Canyon acquisition in the early 1980s. Thus, we remain skeptical that the Army really means it when it offers to spend more in the area in the future...more

The Pueblo Chieftain is more forgiving of Tipton than I was. I hope they're right and I'm wrong.