DENVER—U.S. Rep. John Salazar says a funding ban on the Army’s plan to expand a southeast Colorado training site will be extended for another year.
Salazar told The Pueblo Chieftain this week he’s been assured by the chairman of the Military Construction and Veterans Affairs Appropriations Subcommittee that the two-year ban will continue.
The Army said last month it would not budget money next year to buy land for the Pinon Canyon Maneuver site. But despite not allocating funds for the expansion, the Army has said it is still interested in the site.
The Army says it needs to expand the 370-square-mile training site to accommodate new weapons, tactics and soldiers. The training site is near La Junta, about 90 miles southeast of Fort Carson in Colorado Springs.
Ranchers have opposed the expansion, saying it would hurt the area’s agriculture economy and permanently damage the land.
Earlier this month, Gov. Bill Ritter put another obstacle in the Army’s plan by signing a bill that prevents the state from selling or leasing land to the Army for the training site. About 20 percent of the land the Army wants for the site is state-owned.
Ritter and some members of Colorado’s congressional delegation have said the Army has failed to make its case for why they need the land.
———
Information from: The Pueblo Chieftain,
