| Pinon Canyon Expansion:
Plan pits ranchers against Army, Nature Conservancy
(Note: This is the finest editorial I've read in a long time.)
August 6, 2006
By Kimmi Clark Lewis mvrkim@rural-com.com Kimmi Clark Lewis and her family own Muddy Valley Ranch outside Kim in Las Animas County.
The Pueblo Chieftain P.O. Box 4040 Pueblo, Colorado 81003 800-279-6397 or 719-544-3520 Fax: 719-546-3235 Attn: Chuck Campbell To submit a Letter to the Editor: tellit@chieftain.com
It is with great concern that I write, as once again government is planning to take private property and it happens to be in my back yard. The Pinon Canyon Maneuver Site expansion will change Southeastern Colorado forever, and I strongly oppose this new land grab. I was part of the standing ovation for two young soldiers who had just returned from Iraq at our Southern Colorado Livestock Association meeting on April 1 in Hoehne. My family has always been in favor of a strong military, and I support and pray for our young people who are fighting for our country. Our country cannot afford to purchase more land from paying taxpayers, as there have been recent reports of the military’s inability to keep its bills paid. I am talking about a recent article that showed Fort Sam Houston behind on utility bills by $4 million. We also cannot stand any more loss of productive agricultural land. Keeping Southeastern Colorado in production is very important. My family moved to Kim in 1917. Most of the ranches in my area have been family owned since the early 1900s. The customs and cultures of our ranching and farming families are being threatened by this private property takings and cannot be replaced. We stand to lose complete communities and families who have been the cornerstone of this rural land. The Department of Defense manages 25 million acres nationwide. How much land does it need? Las Animas County is not only the largest landmass county in the state, but it also holds the record for the most cow/calf production in our state. Severe economic impacts will occur with the expansion. Businesses, as well as towns, could be partially or completely eliminated. In February, I traveled to Washington, D.C., to visit with our elected officials and voice my opinion on the Fort Carson expansion proposal. Some important facts need to be brought out. Fort Carson promised back in 1983 never to increase the Pinon Canyon Maneuver Site or use live rounds of ammunition. As we can see, Army officials changed their story and did not keep their word, using live rounds even though the original Environmental Impact Statement told them that the land was too fragile. On December 14, 2000, the Department of the Army and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers signed a memorandum of understanding with the Nature Conservancy. Nature Conservancy President Steven McCormick has bragged about his organization's partnership with the Pentagon to acquire private land and funding for buffer zones around military bases. In one of Fort Carson’s old planning maps, the first two years after acquisition of the maneuver site expansion would be devoted to the wildlife buffer zones. How will these wildlife buffer zones help our country stay free? How much of the acquisition will be given to the Nature Conservancy in fee title? I firmly believe that we need to call the Pinon Canyon Maneuver Site expansion what it is - an environmental land grab. And it is not just a land grab, but also a water grab. It’s always about the water. The Nature Conservancy and their many partners are working furiously to talk people into signing conservation easements in order to preserve, set aside, protect, lock up, sign up, sell or give away as much private property as they can. Land owners and water rights owners must remain vigilant about their rights and keep their titles and deeds clean. Just say "no" to this green money, which will change our agricultural industry. As a founding member of the Colorado Independent Cattle Grower’s Association, I feel it is time for us to step forward and show the truth about conservation easements and the role of private property in a free society. Conservation easements are power tools being used to transfer your most valuable and critical property rights to land trusts and possibly the government. In the past 10 years, we have heard many cattlemen’s associations boasting about having a seat at the table. Mike Dail of the American Land Foundation said it best: "If you're considering buying yourself a seat at the table, make sure it isn't the Last Supper."
Copyright Star-Journal Publishing Company, Pueblo, Colorado. http://www.chieftain.com/editorial/1154844447/2
Related reading (please keep in mind that this is an election year...):
Seeking balance
(Note: Unlike the excellence and clarity of the above letter, the below requires careful reading. The reader is asked to note that the site is currently 240,000 acres, but that it plans to expand by over TWO MILLION ACRES. There can be no "balance" in that agenda.)
August 7, 2006
Editorial The Pueblo Cheiftain P.O. Box 4040 Pueblo, Colorado 81003 800-279-6397 or 719-544-3520 Fax: 719-546-3235 Attn: Chuck Campbell To submit a Letter to the Editor: tellit@chieftain.com
Senator Wayne Allard supports the Army’s need to provide adequate training grounds for Fort Carson’s growing role, but he also supports landowners near the Pinon Canyon training site who wish to keep their property. The Army has proposed expanding the Pinon Canyon site to accommodate the increase in troop strength at the Mountain Post. Senator Allard has attached an amendment to the Defense Department’s 2007 appropriations bill, which requires the Army to provide Congress with reasons specifying its need to expand the 240,000-acre site. If the amendment survives muster from the full Senate, it would have to be given approval by a conference committee, since the appropriations bill already has been passed by the House. Senator Allard, who sits on the Senate Appropriations Committee, wants the Army to report to lawmakers on its current available training areas, the estimated costs and economic impact of acquiring more land around the Pinon Canyon site, whether expansion can be accomplished with willing sellers, the cost to local communities from lost property taxes, and what other options the Army may have considered. The Army must report back to Congress by November 30. We support Senator Allard’s balanced approach. The Army must have enough space to hone our soldiers’ fighting skills, but ranchers who have devoted generations to their land must be accommodated fairly, also.
Copyright Star-Journal Publishing Company, Pueblo, Colorado. |