Colorado Springs – U.S. Sen. Ken Salazar will ask the Army to justify the need to expand the Piñon Canyon Maneuver Site by more than 400,000 acres in southeastern Colorado.
Salazar met Wednesday with Colorado Springs government and military leaders, who told the senator the land is needed to properly train a high-tech Army that covers huge battlefields. They also reminded Salazar of the billions of dollars the military contributes to Colorado’s economic engine.
Speaking to a mostly pro-expansion crowd, Salazar said: “Every day on the floor of the U.S. Senate, I remind myself that in front of the word ‘senator’ comes ‘United States.’ … And, for me, one of the most important things I have to do is to make sure as a United States senator, I’m doing everything I can to protect our homeland and make sure that we have a strong national defense.”
But the senator said he does not believe the Army has clearly stated a case for why expansion of the current 235,000-acre site is necessary. He did not know whether a study justifying the expansion would be completed before the mandatory environmental impact statement study begins late this year or early in 2008.
Salazar told The Denver Post editorial board Tuesday that he would consider opposing the expansion if the Army could not justify the need for more land.
While Fort Carson has said the land is needed to train an additional 10,000 troops moving from Fort Hood, Texas, a 2005 Base Realignment and Closure document says: “Fort Carson has sufficient capacity to support these units.”
Retired Air Force Maj. Gen. Bentley Rayburn said that new doctrines such as the modular Army mean that “no matter where it might be found, the Army needs additional training space.”
U.S. Sen. Wayne Allard is exploring legislation that would put a moratorium on the use of eminent domain to acquire the targeted land for up to five years. Salazar said he wants to explore a similar moratorium and see whether the Army would let local ranchers graze cattle on the land, should the Army acquire it.
Lon Robertson, president of the Piñon Canyon Expansion Opposition Coalition, said placing a moratorium on condemnation will not protect farmers.
He termed Wednesday’s meeting in Colorado Springs a “pro-expansion event.”
Staff writer Erin Emery can be reached at 719-522-1360 or eemery@denverpost.com.
Colorado’s military
The Colorado Springs Chamber of Commerce says the military contributes billions of dollars to Colorado’s economy.
PERSONNEL
Active duty: About 36,000
Reserve/Guard: About 21,000
Civilian employees: About 16,500
Retirees: 47,065 (14th in U.S.)
Retiree pay: $1.08 billion a year (ninth in the nation)
CURRENT IMPACT
Payroll: $2.32 billion
Construction, services, etc.: $1.3 billion
Value of jobs created: $960 million
EXPANSION ECONOMIC IMPACT (ESTIMATED)
52,600 jobs, including troops
$2 billion employee compensation
$98 million proprietor income per year
$1.9 billion gross business income per year
$192 million state and local tax revenue per year
