Gazette letter to the editor

Representative Lamborn has launched an ill-advised campaign to federalize Colorado's lands and to militarize Colorado's economy.

While it is reasonable for a Congressman to promote issues important to his District, for him to personally form a task force designed specifically to sacrifice others’ districts and a significant portion of our state for the agenda of one community is not only arrogant it is dictatorial. It would be tantamount to Colorado legislators putting together a task force designed to promote the complete sacrifice of New Mexico for border security (without so much as a by your leave for the citizens and leadership of NM).

In his op-ed to the Gazette on May 7th Mr. Lamborn claims that the expansion of Pinon Canyon would be the economic salvation of, not only Las Animas County and Colorado Springs, but of the entire State of Colorado. He couldn't be more wrong.

Here in Las Animas County we know from a century of experience that our long-term economic security rests, not with the military acquisition and occupation of our lands, but with agriculture. We know well the boom-bust cycles of coal and gas, and we know the steadfast dependability of ranching. Taking away the base for the entire region’s economy would be catastrophic – not ‘salvation’.

Besides, the Army now has a quarter-century track record of broken promises with the people of our region. They made the same promises back in the early 80s that they are making now about local contracts and employment. All anyone needs to do is review numerous letters and news articles from that period and it is clearly visible they are using the same script now as then. (see ‘documents’ on the PCEOC website – www.pinoncanyon.com ).

They also promised us that there would never be any future expansion of Pinon Canyon beyond the current 238,000 acres, and that there would never be live-fire at the site. All of these promises have been broken.

Why should we believe the Army now? Rep. Lamborn stakes his reputation on the trustworthiness of promises made under oath by Under Secretary of the Army Keith Eastin that the Army will not use eminent domain to take land. But he fails to mention that Secretary Eastin recently announced his retirement. His promises will leave this office along with his personal effects.

Representative Lamborn threatens that if Pinon Canyon is not expanded the Pentagon will retaliate by pulling the plug on future investments in Colorado. If he's right and this heavy-handed approach is really the way that the Department of Defense operates, Colorado would be better off looking to alternative energy and other kinds of economic development.

The 100,000 acre, Phase 1 of the Army's Pinon Canyon acquisition plan, is not a small thing as Representative Lamborn would have us believe. For perspective, the city of Colorado Springs is 118,848 acres. But this pales in relationship to the planned acquisitions mapped out by the Army over an 18-year period. Army documents indicate the eventual militarization of 6.9 million acres of southeastern Colorado, all the way to the Kansas and Oklahoma borders. That's 10% of the state. The Army calculates that this would create more than 17,000 refugees. (again simply reviewing the Army’s own documents on our website will bring that into relief for anyone that really desires the facts)

The "adequate training" of soldiers does not depend upon the expansion of Pinon Canyon as Representative Lamborn claims. It depends upon the wise and efficient use of the almost 30 million acres of land already within the Pentagon's inventory.

When all is said it is apparent the Army leadership’s left hand doesn’t know what their right hand is doing. Perhaps Mr. Landborn should concentrate on getting to the root of those internal issues along with his fellow legislators who have called for a full and complete investigation of the Pinon Canyon expansion matter. Representative Salazar and Representative Markey are working to protect their districts and the state from assault and pillage caused by a completely unnecessary expansion of Pinon Canyon.