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.
The Army says it needs to expand the 370-square-mile training site to accommodate new weapons, tactics and soldiers.
But ranchers have opposed the expansion, saying it would hurt the area's agriculture economy and permanently damage the land.
