Pueblo – Some 500 ranchers, farmers, outfitters and small-business owners packed a public meeting Saturday to complain to U.S. Sen. Ken Salazar and a Pentagon representative about the U.S. Army’s proposal to expand its Piñon Canyon Maneuver Site between Trinidad and La Junta.
Many of them said they have owned their land for decades – with some families having homesteaded there since the 1800s – and were nearly unanimous in their opposition to expanding the Army’s 235,000-acre training site by nearly 1 million additional acres.
Kimmi Lewis, secretary of the Colorado Independent Cattle Grower’s Association, presented Salazar, D-Colo., and a deputy secretary of the Army with a list of 142 area families who signed a petition saying they wouldn’t sell their land.
She told the standing- room-only crowd of people with cowboy hats and ruddy faces: “Private property and private enterprise are the cornerstones in which our government is based, and how we became a world leader. When we lose our production, we lose our strength. I am a rancher and my ranch is not for sale.”
William Armbruster, deputy assistant secretary of the Army, who came dressed in blue jeans and a western-style shirt, responded: “I can tell you no decision has been made on this proposal; it has not reached the (Army) secretary’s desk.
“We need your support. We are not going to do anything counter to your interests.”
Some people asked about oil and mineral rights and about the water rights under the training land. State Rep. Wes McKinley, a Baca County Democrat, asked who had the power to stop the Army.
Salazar said the Army will not be allowed to condemn the land through eminent domain.
Many citizens complained about the lack of information from the Army – including Salazar, who said the only map of the proposal he’s seen was the one published in The Denver Post. He promised the group that more information would be released as the Pentagon assesses its training needs.
He added that Congress will have a role in approving or rejecting the proposal, but for now, everyone must wait to see what the Army wants to do.
Meghan Harris Russell, executive director of the Trinidad-Las Animas County Economic Development group, said the county stands to lose up to $23 million annually from the proposed loss of ranches, cattle, crops, small businesses and taxes. She said Piñon Canyon has not created any new jobs in the area, and that the Army doesn’t purchase any supplies locally.
