Aug 11, 2006 10:33 am US/Mountain
Ranchers' Group Wants To Meet On Pinon Canyon Site
PUEBLO, Colo. (AP) ―
A ranchers' group wants a meeting with Army Secretary Francis Harvey to argue against a proposed expansion of the military's Pinon Canyon Maneuver Site, arguing the area is vital to cattle ranching.
"Neither Fort Carson nor Department of Defense representatives have quantified the exact number of acres involved in the planned expansion, nor have they provided information regarding the number of existing small businesses and families that likely would be displaced by the expansion," Kimmi Lewis, a Kim-area rancher and chairwoman of the Ranchers-Cattlemen Action Legal Fund said in a letter to the Pentagon.
The R-CALF action group represents 18,000 ranchers and feedlot owners in 47 states.
The Aug. 1 letter argues that the Army was ill-advised to consider expanding the military training site, given the productive ranching in the area and loss in property taxes that would follow if the Army condemned private land.
Lewis said that Las Animas County -- where Pinon Canyon is located -- has the largest number of breeding cattle in the state.
Pentagon officials said they have not formally decided whether to expand the site by more than 400,000 acres.
(© 2006 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
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