PUEBLO, Colo.—A congressional committee has approved a budget that no longer blocks the Army from spending money to expand the Pinon Canyon Maneuver Site northeast of Trinidad.
The funding ban has been a roadblock to the Army in its long campaign to expand the 235,000-acre training range in Las Animas County.
The Pueblo Chieftain says Rep. Scott Tipton, R-Colo., told ranchers earlier this month that he intended to keep the funding moratorium in place while he worked on a longer term solution in the long fight between the Army and the ranching community.
The full House Appropriations Committee will consider the 2012 military construction budget next Tuesday.
Ranchers who have battled against giving the Army any additional land around Pinon Canyon since 2006 say they are worried.
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Information from: The Pueblo Chieftain,
