Fort Carson could be in position to house an extra 4,000 soldiers if the Army gets a mammoth chunk of southeast Colorado for training, Army Secretary Peter Geren wrote in a letter to Sen. Wayne Allard.

In response to Allard’s questions about why the Army wants to acquire more than 400,000

acres to add to the Piñon Canyon Maneuver Site outside Trinidad, Geren wrote that the expansion would make the post an attractive place for the service to locate one of the nation’s new combat brigades being formed.

The letter, received by Allard’s office Monday, was made public Tuesday. It’s the second time in recent days the Army has dangled a troop increase as an incentive for lawmakers to get behind the controversial expansion plan.

Allard said he’s still undecided after the letter, but the millions of dollars that

would come with an extra 4,000 soldiers on top of the 10,000 already being added to Fort Carson is clearly enticing for the Republican from Loveland.

“When a fourth brigade combat team was added to Fort Carson in 2005, 4,377 direct and 3,309 indirect jobs were established as a result,” he said in a statement. “A similar economic impact would occur with a new brigade at Fort Carson if Piñon Canyon was expanded.”

Geren didn’t directly offer the troops but hinted strongly that Colorado would get a friendly look for housing more soldiers if the expansion goes through.

“Expansion of PCMS would improve Fort Carson’s military value and increase its ability to compete in any stationing decision,” Geren wrote.

The secretary echoed statements made at Fort Carson last week by Gen. Richard Cody, the Army’s vice chief of staff.

Lon Robertson, who heads the Piñon Canyon Expansion Opposition Coalition, said it’s doubtful the Army would put another brigade in Colorado with or without the extra land.

“It’s a ploy,” he said.

The Army has said it needs to add the 400,000 acres to its 235,000-acre training area because units cover a wider area of the battlefield these days, and other military training areas in California and Louisiana are overtaxed.

The expansion proposal has faced a stiff fight from ranchers, including Robertson, who say the Army will destroy the rural culture of southeast Colorado.

The ranchers picked up powerful allies last month when the U.S. House of Representatives overwhelmingly supported a proposal by Colorado Reps. John Salazar and Marilyn Musgrave that would block funding for expansion.

The House move landed the expansion proposal in the Senate, where Allard and Sen. Ken Salazar have remained aloof to the Army’s desires.

Ken Salazar has suggested that he would back expansion if the Army moved a brigade to Trinidad, but his staff said Thursday that his support wouldn’t necessarily follow the posting of an extra brigade in Colorado Springs.

“We’d have to study if that would be a win-win for rural southeast Colorado,” Ken Salazar spokesman Cody Wertz said. “I’m not sure it accomplishes Senator Salazar’s goal.”

Geren’s letter did not address the possibility of placing a new brigade in Trinidad.

Robertson said that while the Army is working to win over the senators, the ranchers are lobbying, too.

“I’m sure Wayne Allard doesn’t want his legacy to be the destruction of one-eighth of southeast Colorado,” Robertson said.

CONTACT THE WRITER: 636-0240 or tom.roeder@gazette.com