RANCHERS IN
Southeastern Colorado who oppose any expansion of the Army's Pinon
Canyon Maneuver Site must have been heartened last week when Senate
candidate Andrew Romanoff said the four-year fight over the Pinon
Canyon has gone on too long and - if elected - he would permanently
block any future expansion of the 238,000-acre training area.
"We need a total ban on expanding Pinon Canyon," the former Democratic
speaker of the Colorado House of Representatives said. "The ranchers
down there deserve to have this fight come to an end once and for all."
Mr. Romanoff is challenging U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet, D-Colo., for the party's nomination.
Publicly, the Army has wanted to expand Pinon Canyon since 2006, saying
it needs more training land to support troops at Fort Carson despite a
Base Realignment and Closure Commission report stating the opposite.
Ranchers and other opponents have blocked that effort with federal and
state legislation, forcing the Army to whittle its land acquisition
effort from 418,000 acres in 2008 to 100,000 acres last year.
Foes have been wanting a Colorado senator to take a hard line and rule
out any future expansion a step that would likely prevent the Senate
from considering any expansion under its rules. While Sens. Mark Udall
and Bennet, both Democrats, have voted for annual funding bans blocking
any expansion, neither senator has gone so far as Mr. Romanoff, ruling
out any future consideration.
