Wes McKinley

PUEBLO – State Representative Buffie McFadyen encouraged US Senators Ken Salazar and Wayne Allard to restore the funding ban to essentially prohibit any expansion of the Piñon Canyon Maneuver Site in southeastern Colorado. The request comes in response to the Army’s announcement that it will continue plans to acquire land in the area for use in “live fire” and other military training exercises. In a letter to Senators Salazar and Allard, Rep. McFadyen sited how important the farmland pegged for army takeover is to the Colorado economy, and how Army expansion could erode private property values, damaging the livelihood of many Coloradans. State Representative Wes McKinley – a longtime critic of Army expansion plans – joined Rep. McFadyen in signaling his support for Congressional action to block any additional land acquisition in Piñon Canyon. “This is just another way of bullying landowners into giving up their land. Any Army expansion – even if it’s from willing sellers – will hurt landowners by diminishing property values in the area. All the Army did was to announce it was closing the front door, and hope that don’t people realize the back gate is still wide open. We’ll, we do. And we’re asking Congress to shut that too.” Excerpts from the letter appear below: Dear Senator, Please work to restore the Piñon Canyon Maneuver Site Expansion funding ban. Please ensure that no funds appropriated or otherwise made available may be used for any action that promotes expansion of the current boundaries of the Piñon Canyon Maneuver Site in Southeastern Colorado. Please also vote to defeat Senator Wayne Allard’s legislation authorizing buying property (with or without eminent domain) for the expansion of the Piñon Canyon Maneuver Site in southeastern Colorado. The Colorado General Assembly, in a bipartisan effort, as well as Governor Bill Ritter, overwhelmingly supported and passed legislation specifically designed to protect private property rights from the Pentagon’s proposal to expand the Piñon Canyon Maneuver Site. Last year, the US Congress gave landslide support to legislation prohibiting funding for any act “related to or promotes the expansion of the boundaries or the size at Piñon Canyon.” … Removal of this agricultural property in Southeastern Colorado would have a devastating impact on the families who have owned and ranched this land for generations. Our local economies are dependent on the survival of industry in rural Colorado. County and school district budgets are dependent on productive and privately owned land. … The Army has not yet supplied enough information or justification for this requested expansion (whether a full or partial expansion). The families living in and around the Pinon Canyon Maneuver site have stated publicly their concerns of years of broken promises made by the military, most especially the use of live fire. Expansion of the maneuver site would include more “live fire.” … Protection of property rights is of the utmost importance. Willing sellers or not, scaled back plans or not, the Army has not made its case for any expansion. Even if willing sellers exist, expansion would impact the property rights and the agricultural industry for generations to come. Any efforts made to devastate property rights must be stopped.