Army vs Pinon Canyon

The Army is in the process of stealing the precious and beautiful land of the Black Mesa along the Colorado and New Mexico border. This amazing land will be ripped away from the historic ranches, the thousands of Indian archeological sites placed in jeopardy , the irreplaceable dinosaur tracks pulverized and numerous fossils reduced to rubble. The original Folsom arrowhead site could be gone soon.

This land grab is a crime perpetrated by our Army. Currently, the US Military already controls millions of acres of US land. There is nothing to justify this injustice except pure control and greed.

My ancestors homesteaded some of this area. I currently own land just inside the Oklahoma border. It is a bitter pill to realize that a place so unique could be destroyed forever.

M. S. Hollis
Art for the World
34 Wood Glen Dr
Wimberley, TX 78676
512-847-3703
www.mshollis.com


Not 1 More Acre!
PO Box 773
Trinidad, Colorado 81082
news@not1moreacre.net
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Pentagon Ignores No-Funding Law, Pushes Piñon Canyon Plan

From Not 1 More Acre!
For immediate release
February 4, 2008
For more information or to arrange
interviews, contact: Hugh Lamberton, 303-748-9099
Jean Aguerre, 719-252-5145

TRINIDAD, Colorado (Monday, February 4): The Pentagon and its military contractors are continuing to push plans to more than triple the size of the Piñon Canyon Maneuver Site in southeastern Colorado - in contravention of a law passed by Congress which forbids them to do so.

Consulting firm Booz Allen Hamilton - which has a $500,000-a-year multi-year contract with the Army to promote the expansion - last week advertised for a Colorado Springs-based "Army Land Expansion Project Manager." However, the ad for Job No. 01056720 was withdrawn over the weekend without explanation. Internet references to the ad, which appeared on many job websites last week as well as on the Booz Allen Hamilton site, can still be found by searching for "booz allen land expansion." The ad's withdrawal came soon after local residents notified members of Congress opposed to the expansion.

Creativo, a Pueblo public relations firm, has also been engaged to hold meetings with regional community members to discuss the expansion proposal. One meeting is scheduled for noon tomorrow (February 5) at the Otero Jr. College student centre in La Junta, and another for noon Wednesday at Black Jack's Steakhouse in Trinidad.

These actions flout no-funding language passed by Congress last year and signed into law by President Bush on December 26, 2008. That legislation - authored by Rep. Marilyn Musgrave (R, 4th CD) and co-sponsored by Rep. John Salazar (D, 3rd CD) - prevents funding of any and all aspects of the expansion plan in 2008. It was adopted overwhelmingly by the House in June (383-34) and the Senate passed a mirror version in September. Rep. Musgrave and Rep. Salazar are now investigating the Army's actions and those of its contractors.

Rancher and board member of expansion opposition group Not 1 More Acre! Mack Louden said the intent of the no-funding legislation is clear. He said it is also clear that the Pentagon and its contractors have decided to simply ignore the overwhelming grassroots and legislative opposition to the expansion plan - from citizen groups, 15 southern Colorado County Commissions, the Colorado General Assembly and the US Congress.

"The Army is thumbing its nose at Congress and at all the levels of democracy that stand opposed to its expansion plan," Mr. Louden said. "And they will obviously keep pushing to see what they can get away with. We're counting on Colorado's Congressional delegation to defend the legislation they supported and force the Pentagon to respect the law."

Responding to the issues raised, Rep. Musgrave said today, "My amendment to the Military Construction and Veterans Affairs and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, title IV, Sec. 409, states: None of the funds appropriated or otherwise made available in this Act may be used for any action that is related to or promotes the expansion of the boundaries or size of the Piñon Canyon Maneuver Site, Colorado."

In his response, Rep. Salazar said that Congress has sent "a clear message to the Army that we were to have a one-year time out on Piñon Canyon."

"If they pursue expansion during FY2008, the Army is clearly defying the will of Congress," Rep. Salazar said. "This is a serious matter and one that will receive the full attention of my office."

The Booz Allen Hamilton ad described the Colorado Springs-based "land expansion" project manager's duties as to: "Support the land acquisition process. Coordinate the flow of information between organizations within the Army command structure at the installation, major command, and headquarters level. Analyze requirements and develop planning documents for the enhancement of facilities through land procurement and unit training area expansion. Assist in the coordination of NEPA and pre-NEPA socioeconomic studies development and program management and other environmental planning activities. Participate in planning and facilitating town hall and ad-hoc meetings, briefings, conferences and other public events supporting land acquisition."

The Pentagon is pursuing two simultaneous phases of expansion in Colorado and New Mexico: a 418,000-acre Phase I Transformation land grab in conjunction with building development of the existing Piñon Canyon Maneuver Site between Trinidad and La Junta (with an ultimate expansion goal of up to 5 million acres); and the expansion of military air space arching northwest out of Clayton, NM into southern Colorado for unmanned aircraft bombing. They are the key components in the Pentagon's plan for a huge high-tech multi-service battlefield.

The proposal would force generational family ranchers from their land and devastate the region's agriculture-based economy. The land under threat includes the last intact shortgrass steppe in the American Great Plains, 165 million-year-old dinosaur tracks, petroglyphs carved by original inhabitants, Native American sacred sites and Hispanic placitas. Red canyons, rivers, juniper woodlands and the Comanche National Grassland provide habitat for thousands of wildlife and plant species - many unique to the area. Grasslands are the most endangered ecosystem on earth.

Contact Information
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Not 1 More Acre!
PO Box 773
Trinidad, Colorado 81082

news@not1moreacre.net
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Good Neighbor Committee
P.O. Box 155 - La Salle, CO  80645
info@goodneighborlaw.com

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