Colorado lawmakers took an initial step Wednesday to declaring state lands off-limits to the U.S. Army’s proposed expansion of the Piñon Canyon Maneuver Site east of Pueblo.
By a vote of 11-2, the House agricultural committee approved a bill that would prohibit the Colorado land board from selling or leasing state land to the Army for the planned expansion.
Rep. Sal Pace, a Pueblo Democrat and one of House Bill 1317’s co-sponsors, said chunks of state land dot the proposed Piñon Canyon expansion site and removing those lands from consideration would hamstring the Army’s plans.
“This bill would prevent the federal government from getting a contiguous tract of land for expansion,” Pace said.
The bill is the latest salvo in a battle over the Army’s plans to expand the site, which is about 100 miles southeast of Fort Carson. The Army says it needs to expand to make up for an expected future shortage in training land.
The Army tried to acquire more than 400,000 acres using eminent domain. But after a passionate campaign against expansion by southeastern Colorado farmers and ranchers, the Army scaled back its plans to 100,000 acres acquired through purchases and leases with landowners.
Residents opposed to the expansion, many wearing cowboy boots and creased Wranglers, testified at the committee hearing Wednesday that the Army’s plans threaten the historic culture of the region.
“This bill gives us an opportunity to protect that which we hold dear, our lives and our livelihood,” said Lon Robertson, a third-generation rancher from Kim and president of the Piñon Canyon Expansion Opposition Coalition. “The best use of this land in southeast Colorado is the current use.”
Ed Hamrick, a lawyer at the state attorney general’s office, questioned whether the bill was an unconstitutional intrusion on the state land board’s authority. He wrote in a memo that the legislature can place procedural requirements on the land board but can’t dictate matters for specific parcels.
The bill faces several votes before being sent to Gov. Bill Ritter. It next goes before the full House.
John Ingold: 303-954-1068 or jingold@denverpost.com
