LandReport.com » Pinon Canyon Maneuver Site

Pinon Canyon: Uranium Contamination?

Eric OKeefe — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 07:00:01 +0000

First, the Army set off a firestorm when it announced its intention to use eminent domain to condemn 400,000 acres of family farms and ranches in order to triple the size of the Pinon Canyon Maneuver Site. Then lightning strikes ignited wildfires at Pinon Canyon that burned out of control on almost 50,000 acres on and off the range. Now a Colorado state representative is alleging that soil samples he recovered off the Fort Carson training facility last year show evidence of possible uranium contamination.

This latest controversy surrounding the Southern Colorado Army installation was sparked by Colorado state representative Wes McKinley (D-Walsh), who made a name for himself as the foreman of the federal grand jury that investigated the Rocky Flats nuclear weapons plant just south of Boulder. Now, according to a report in the Colorado Springs Gazette, Rep. Walsh has followed up on rumors about the dumping of toxic materials at the 238,000-acre Army facility by having four different soil samples tested. The results showed traces of uranium.

“I certainly don’t think Congress should be thinking about expanding Pinon Canyon until we get answers to the questions about where the uranium came from and whether that land needs to be cleaned up,” McKinley said last week.

On another note related to the site, Congressman John Salazar (D-CO) succeeded in inserting language into the 2009 military construction bill to block the Army from spending any money on the expansion of Pinon Canyon for at least another year.

No related posts.

Fire Fuels Pinon Canyon Debate

Eric OKeefe — Mon, 16 Jun 2008 15:00:33 +0000

Lightning has struck twice. The Pinon Canyon Maneuver Site is front-page news yet again, only this time the focus of the controversy is not just eminent domain but wildfire.

Grass fires, ignited by lightning strikes, have burned more than 40,000 acres of southern Colorado. The fires started on the maneuver site and then spread to federal, state, and private lands adjacent to the Army training zone. (Have a look at this story in a Colorado Springs newspaper, which in a wishful faux pas refers to the military grounds as a recreation area.)

Area landowners say the fires highlight the Army’s poor stewardship of Pinon Canyon. They single out two primary causes. The first is that the Army didn’t respond quickly enough to contain the wildfires, which escalated out of control are now being fought by hundreds of firefighters. The second reason has to do with the long term effect of the maneuver site on the prairie ecosystem. For thousands of years, native grasses have sustained cattle and bison on the American Plains, but with the acquisition of this property by the Army in 1983 the ungulates were removed. The lack of foraging animals means that native grasses now grow out of control, and the maneuver site has now become a huge safety hazard. A quick check at the Fort Carson’s website shows one press release pertaining to the fires.

Be sure to get up to speed on the backstory of one of the biggest land grabs by Uncle Sam by reading Trey Garrison’s excellent report from June 2007.

No related posts.