Piñon expansion has a new enemy

Another opponent to the Army’s plans to expand Fort Carson’s Piñon Canyon Maneuver Site surfaced Thursday.

The Washington, D.C.-based National Trust for Historic Preservation listed Piñon Canyon as one of the nation’s 11 most endangered historic sites in an announcement Thursday. The group, which has 270,000 members, says Army plans to add more than 400,000 acres to its training lands in southeast Colorado would “close off a scenic and culturally rich landscape from public access, damage valuable historic sites and harm the regional agricultural and tourism economy.”

Jim Lindberg, a Denverbased spokesman for the group, said the timing of the National Trust announcement wasn’t intended to coincide with a planned U.S. House vote on the expansion proposal. They understand the politics, though.

“We’re not afraid of controversy when we think something important is at stake,” Lindberg said.

The group’s opposition could become moot when the House votes on a measure that would block the Defense Department from spending money on anything related to expanding its 235,000-acre site, which is 150 miles southeast of Colorado Springs.

The House was scheduled to take up the issue Thursday, but put it off until at least today.

Citing the specter of government land seizures, Reps. John Salazar and Marilyn Musgrave formed a bipartisan alliance to stop expansion.

“This is an issue that everyone can stand behind,” Salazar wrote in an e-mail to The Gazette. “No one wants their property, their homes or their livelihoods taken away from them.”

Rep. Doug Lamborn, R-Colorado Springs, says the two are exaggerating the danger of land seizures to block the expansion and appease rural constituents.

“Eminent domain is a red herring,” Lamborn said.

The House is expected to consider the 2008 military construction bill this afternoon, triggering debate and a possible vote on the Salazar-Musgrave amendment.