HUERFANO- The U.S. Army hinted last week that it had a willing seller for up to 100,000 acres for the expansion of its Pinon Canyon Maneuver Site. The Army has dropped this hint before however, only to acknowledge later that it didn’t yet have a willing seller.
The largest landowner in the targeted area, Craig Walker, has said emphatically that he has no intention of selling, and says he is opposed to the Pinon Canyon expansion.
Army officials did hint they may be willing to scale back the expansion plan to just the 100,000 acres. Members of the Pinon Canyon Expansion Opposition Coalition scoffed at this idea. “How long do you think they would settle for just 100,000 acres more?” said Lon Robertson, president of the coalition.
The 100,000 acres would fill a heavy artillery deficit the Army claims it has at the current-sized Pinon Canyon Maneuver Site.
In other Pinon Canyon news, local lawmakers, headed by Rep. Wes McKinley have sponsored a bill that would take way the government’s ability to condemn land however it pleased. Condemnation would then go on a case-by-case basis.
