FORT CARSON, Colo.—Army officials are seeking public comment on a report on a proposed expansion of its Pinon Canyon training site in southeast Colorado.
The report was submitted to Congress last month. The Army is accepting public comments on it through Nov. 15.
The Army earlier had proposed acquiring 418,000 acres—or 653 square miles—to add to the existing 235,000-acre Fort Carson training area. In the report released in July, the Army proposed a scaled back expansion of 100,000 acres—or 156 square miles—because of opposition from ranchers.
Army officials have said they are seeking to acquire land from willing sellers.
The Pinon Canyon Expansion Opposition Coalition is concerned about how an expansion would affect longtime ranching families, prehistoric sites and the environment. It plans to submit comments on the report but is still reviewing it, president Lon Robertson said Friday.
The coalition contends the Army has not shown why it needs the land. “Why are we going to destroy more of rural America when it’s not absolutely unnecessary,” Robertson said.
Military officials contend they need more land for training as Fort Carson grows and to meet new training requirements that require more space.
“America’s greatest resource is its sons and daughters—they are more valuable than any material wealth, natural beauty, archaeological treasure, or biodiversity,” military officials wrote in the report.
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