Ritter's stand against Army's plan besieged

FOUNTAIN • Fresh from announcing his support of an effort to thwart the Army's push to expand a Fort Carson training site, Gov. Bill Ritter came here Monday for a public appearance in the place that might feel the biggest fallout if the Army scales back its commitment of money and troops in the area.

Ritter said during the weekend that he would sign a bill, approved by the Legislature last month, that would forbid the state to sell or lease state lands for the purpose of expanding the Piñon Canyon Maneuver Site, a 235,000-acre training area northeast of Trinidad.

The proposed acquisition area - about 85,000 acres - is dotted with state holdings that would decrease the land's utility for war games.

The Army says it needs more elbow room for training. Without expansion, some in Colorado Springs fear the Army will scale back its plans for Fort Carson, the second-largest employer in the state.

About a dozen protesters gathered on the sidewalk outside Fountain City Hall, calling on Ritter to reverse his position and veto the bill.

"We're going to lose jobs," said one of the protesters, Boris Dimoff, of Colorado Springs.

"This town here is going to close down."

Colorado Springs City Councilman Darryl Glenn made a connection between the Piñon Canyon bill and the Pentagon's recent decision to place the Air Force's cyberwarfare operation in Texas instead of Colorado Springs, as well as the decision not to muster a new brigade at Fort Carson.

Rep. Doug Lamborn, R-Colo., released a statement denouncing Ritter's stand.

"While this bill would not preclude the Army from expanding PCMS, it does send the wrong message to our troops," Lamborn said.

Ritter was in town not to debate Piñon Canyon but to join local officials in touting the newly formed Fountain Creek Watershed District.

It creates a framework for cooperation between El Paso and Pueblo counties on the management of the Fountain Creek Watershed, which drains the entire Colorado Springs region and empties into the Arkansas River in downtown Pueblo.

Ritter said he thought the watershed district could be a springboard to broader cooperation between the two cities, which are longtime rivals.

"You could absolutely find great common ground on transportation issues, on energy issues, on health-care issues, a host of different things," he said.

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