Army Says Expansion Shelved

Listen Now

photo: Kaylinn Gilstrap

photo: Kaylinn Gilstrap

In southeastern Colorado, there’s a long-standing feud between ranchers and the U.S. Army. Five years ago, it came out that the Army wanted more land in the area for training - a little over 400,000 acres. And that would have meant some ranchers losing their land. But these plans to expand the Piñon Canyon Maneuver Site have hit snag after snag. Quite a few ranchers are opposed. And they’ve gotten Congress to essentially stop the Army from moving forward. Recently, Senators Mark Udall and Michael Bennet asked for something more: an outright commitment from the Army it will no longer try to acquire land. Pete Roper has followed this story for the Pueblo Chieftain. He speaks with Ryan Warner.