DENVER—A high-ranking Army official plans to visit Colorado this week to discuss hotly contested plans to expand a training site in the southeast corner of the state.
Army Assistant Secretary Keith Eastin’s visit was announced Tuesday after The Pueblo Chieftain reported the military has found a willing seller to buy more land for the Pinon Canyon Maneuver Site.
The Chieftain cited unnamed sources. Army spokesman Dave Foster didn’t confirm or deny the report in an e-mail response to The Associated Press.
Foster said Eastin would be in Colorado Thursday and Friday to discuss overall Army expansion and to meet with local “stakeholders” in the Pinon Canyon dispute.
Soldiers from Fort Carson train at the 370-square-mile Pinon Canyon. The Army once proposed expanding the site to more than 1,000 square miles but has since scaled that back to about 525 square miles.
The Army says it needs more space for more soldiers and new weapons and tactics. Nearby residents say losing productive agricultural land to the Army will hurt the area’s economy.
Rep. John Salazar, D-Colo., whose district includes most of the area, said he opposes the expansion unless the military wins local support.
Democratic Sen. Michael Bennet issued a statement saying he is “very concerned about the Army’s plan to lease private land to expand Pinon Canyon.” It wasn’t clear if the Army has definitive plans or an agreement to lease rather than buy land.
Neither Bennet’s spokesman nor the Army’s Foster immediately responded to requests for comment.
Lon Robertson, president of the Pinon Canyon Opposition Coalition, told the AP on Tuesday he knew of no deal to sell private land to the Army, and even if one has been made, his group still opposes the expansion.
“The solution is exactly what we’ve been pushing all along. They have adequate training facilities with what they have,” he said.
