For immediate release

Contact:          

Doug Holdread- doug@holdread.com 719-680-3933

Lon Robertson- lonr@ghvalley.net 719-980-5114

KIM, Colorado (February 29, 2012)- Over the past five years artists from all over Colorado have fought, side by side with ranchers in Southeastern part of the state in defense of the region which has come to be known as, "Pinon Canyon," a landscape rich in natural beauty, as well as thousands of prehistoric sites and locations associated with Colorado's early history. These artist's visions of this land, its history and people who live there will be featured in an exhibition at the High Vista Fine Art Gallery in Pueblo during the month of March.

The exhibit will open on Friday, March 2nd with a reception at the gallery, from 5:00 to 7:00 pm. That will be followed by a public presentation including an overview and update on the Pinon Canyon expansion issue presented by members of the Pinon Canyon Expansion Opposition Coalition (PCEOC).   

Ever since 2006 when a map was leaked out of Fort Carson showing plans to create a 6.9 million-acre training and testing range, artists have teamed up with land owners to try and keep the Pinon Canyon region from being taken over by the Department of Defense. Most recently the Army has announced expanded Combat Aviation Brigade training at the Pinon Canyon Maneuver Site, a move that the Pinon Canyon Expansion Opposition Coalition believes is designed to push forward the expansion of the current 236,000 acre site.

The High Vista exhibition was the idea of two Pueblo West artists, Allan McConnell and Fran Dodd, who've been involved with the rancher-artist collaboration for several years. They were among a handful of artists with ties to the canyon lands and plains of the region. They had already had a history of involvement, painting and photographing the region when Trinidad artist, Doug Holdread invited them, along with other artists from all over the state to join in an effort to bring greater state-wide visibility to the threatened region. Holdread had once hiked the Purgatory River, from its confluence with the Arkansas River, upstream to its headwaters in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains. He fell in love with the land, the history and the people. "When I saw the leaked Army Map which revealed their plan to take that land, I was roused to action", Holdread says.  

He began mobilizing artists including Dodd and McConnell from various parts of Colorado to join the cause. A real bond developed as these artists fought along side the ranchers. "Neither ranching nor making art is a way to accrue a lot of money," says Holdread, "but they are both ways of life that are a response to a deep inner calling."

Over the years ranchers have hosted a series of art sessions on their lands. Outing were conducted at locations on the Santa Fe Trail and at the headquarters of the Bloom Land and Cattle Company which was established in the 1860s, and in the red rock canyon country along the Purgatory River. Other outings were hosted near Apishapa State Wildlife Area, once the site of Charlie Goodnight's cattle operation and in the canyons below the Mesa de Maya. These are among the places depicted in the High Vista exhibition.

The Pinon Canyon Expansion Opposition Coalition is a broad-based coalition representing communities across Southern Colorado in their opposition to the proposed military expansion. PCEOC members include business owners, teachers, students, elected officials, ranchers, environmentalists and many others.   

The coalition is united in its opposition to any expansion of PCMS.  No funding, no expansion.   

For more information, please see www.pinoncanyon.com .

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