March 23rd, 2007

Request for Help: Support For HB 1069 Needed

From Pinon Canyon Ranchers:

HB 1069 to be Heard by the Colorado House on 3-23-07
Full Colorado House to consider it on Friday March 23rd. WE ARE GOING IN FORCE!!
JOIN US TO SUPPORT AND WITNESS OUR COLORADO REPRESENTATIVES IN ACTION!!

Where: State Capitol When: 10:00 a.m. today, March 23rd.

Rules of the House….. no buttons or t-shirts or otherwise any display of political
positions inside. FFA jackets and the like are absolutely OK. We just need to be
sure we act honorably and honor the rules. What we’ve been doing - it’s gotten us a
long way!!

Outside there will signs made by PCEOC - perhaps some other groups as is their right
- hats, buttons and students handing out brochures is appropriate outside. Anyone
wanting to help by carrying a sign between 7 am and 9 am on Friday please let Steve
Wooten know - by calling 710-384-5813.

What does HB 1069 do?

The founders of our country established the states to serve as an alternative to and
a constraint on the power of the federal government. HB 1069 provides for the state
to exercise its inherent constraint against the excess of the proposed take-over of
¼ of unspoiled Colorado by Rumsfeld’s Transformation Project.

Eminent domain was never intended to be un-reined. The state, through our system of
checks and balances, is obligated to limit federal government excess.

The federal government cannot be counted on to constrain itself. Without the
representatives of the people of the State of Colorado rising to its responsibility,
what is to stop the Pentagon from taking ¼ of unspoiled Colorado for new lethal,
high-tech testing and training grounds? What is to constrain a Pentagon that
already has more than 25,000,000 acres at its disposal if the state does not
exercise the right given it by our founding fathers?

The Pentagon in its proposal to “transform” the Pinon Canyon Maneuver Site by
acquiring 2.5 million acres - 418,766 acres in the first take — acts as if it is
the patriotic duty of taxpayers to hand over ¼ of unspoiled Colorado. This
excessive, wasteful and destructive demand is made as:

a.. increasing numbers of soldiers are sent to war without protective gear;
b.. traumatized troops return to Ft. Carson and other bases without mental health
support;
c.. shattered volunteer soldiers return to a VA hospital system made into a
national disgrace from neglect and lack of funding.
If the representatives of the people of Colorado fail their obligation to constrain
the proposed land grab by Rumsfeld’s Transformation Project, they will ultimately:

a.. condemn and cause forced removals of generational ranchers from their land and
livelihoods;
b.. displace agriculturally based rural communities, schools, community colleges,
hospitals, and senior centers with Rumsfeld’s Transformation Project’s new lethal,
high-tech weapons systems testing and training;
c.. destroy the last shortgrass prairie in the American Great Plains, her red
canyons, unique and outstanding habitats of creatures great and small. Rivers,
soils and plants will be made into a war testing and training ground if the
representatives of the people of Colorado allow ¼ of unspoiled Colorado to be
taken by the Pentagon;
d.. sacrifice 165 million year-old fossil records of dinosaurs and other ancient
life to a Pentagon that spends more than all other militaries in the world
combined if the representatives of the people of Colorado refuse to stand and
constrain this unthinkable excess;
e.. see tributaries to the Arkansas River polluted and molested by new generations
of lethal weapons systems rather than enjoyed by generations more of children
native to this place;
f.. lose ancient and historic archaeological sites as they will be collected into
closets of the brass or locked up in military storage just like those that have
already been looted from the Pinon Canyon Maneuver Site if the representatives of
the people of Colorado do not constrain the Rumsfeld Transformation Project from
taking ¼ of unspoiled Colorado.
The Pentagon’s own documents belie the need for expanding PCMS by saying that Ft.
Carson has room to train the anticipated additional troops at the base near
Fountain. So why this excess? What is it that the Pentagon wants to do here that
they cannot do on the 25,000,000 acres already supplied to them by American
taxpayers?

HB 1069 provides the constraint intended by our democracy’s founders. Call you
legislator today to demand they stand up to constrain this excess! Demand that they
stand up for priorities that are in our national interest!

Look for legislators numbers and contact info on our website:
http://www.pinoncanyon.com/index.html

March 23rd, 2007

Request for Help: Support For HB 1069 Needed

From Pinon Canyon Ranchers:

HB 1069 to be Heard by the Colorado House on 3-23-07
Full Colorado House to consider it on Friday March 23rd. WE ARE GOING IN FORCE!!
JOIN US TO SUPPORT AND WITNESS OUR COLORADO REPRESENTATIVES IN ACTION!!

Where: State Capitol When: 10:00 a.m. today, March 23rd.

Rules of the House….. no buttons or t-shirts or otherwise any display of political
positions inside. FFA jackets and the like are absolutely OK. We just need to be
sure we act honorably and honor the rules. What we’ve been doing - it’s gotten us a
long way!!

Outside there will signs made by PCEOC - perhaps some other groups as is their right
- hats, buttons and students handing out brochures is appropriate outside. Anyone
wanting to help by carrying a sign between 7 am and 9 am on Friday please let Steve
Wooten know - by calling 710-384-5813.

What does HB 1069 do?

The founders of our country established the states to serve as an alternative to and
a constraint on the power of the federal government. HB 1069 provides for the state
to exercise its inherent constraint against the excess of the proposed take-over of
¼ of unspoiled Colorado by Rumsfeld’s Transformation Project.

Eminent domain was never intended to be un-reined. The state, through our system of
checks and balances, is obligated to limit federal government excess.

The federal government cannot be counted on to constrain itself. Without the
representatives of the people of the State of Colorado rising to its responsibility,
what is to stop the Pentagon from taking ¼ of unspoiled Colorado for new lethal,
high-tech testing and training grounds? What is to constrain a Pentagon that
already has more than 25,000,000 acres at its disposal if the state does not
exercise the right given it by our founding fathers?

The Pentagon in its proposal to “transform” the Pinon Canyon Maneuver Site by
acquiring 2.5 million acres - 418,766 acres in the first take — acts as if it is
the patriotic duty of taxpayers to hand over ¼ of unspoiled Colorado. This
excessive, wasteful and destructive demand is made as:

a.. increasing numbers of soldiers are sent to war without protective gear;
b.. traumatized troops return to Ft. Carson and other bases without mental health
support;
c.. shattered volunteer soldiers return to a VA hospital system made into a
national disgrace from neglect and lack of funding.
If the representatives of the people of Colorado fail their obligation to constrain
the proposed land grab by Rumsfeld’s Transformation Project, they will ultimately:

a.. condemn and cause forced removals of generational ranchers from their land and
livelihoods;
b.. displace agriculturally based rural communities, schools, community colleges,
hospitals, and senior centers with Rumsfeld’s Transformation Project’s new lethal,
high-tech weapons systems testing and training;
c.. destroy the last shortgrass prairie in the American Great Plains, her red
canyons, unique and outstanding habitats of creatures great and small. Rivers,
soils and plants will be made into a war testing and training ground if the
representatives of the people of Colorado allow ¼ of unspoiled Colorado to be
taken by the Pentagon;
d.. sacrifice 165 million year-old fossil records of dinosaurs and other ancient
life to a Pentagon that spends more than all other militaries in the world
combined if the representatives of the people of Colorado refuse to stand and
constrain this unthinkable excess;
e.. see tributaries to the Arkansas River polluted and molested by new generations
of lethal weapons systems rather than enjoyed by generations more of children
native to this place;
f.. lose ancient and historic archaeological sites as they will be collected into
closets of the brass or locked up in military storage just like those that have
already been looted from the Pinon Canyon Maneuver Site if the representatives of
the people of Colorado do not constrain the Rumsfeld Transformation Project from
taking ¼ of unspoiled Colorado.
The Pentagon’s own documents belie the need for expanding PCMS by saying that Ft.
Carson has room to train the anticipated additional troops at the base near
Fountain. So why this excess? What is it that the Pentagon wants to do here that
they cannot do on the 25,000,000 acres already supplied to them by American
taxpayers?

HB 1069 provides the constraint intended by our democracy’s founders. Call you
legislator today to demand they stand up to constrain this excess! Demand that they
stand up for priorities that are in our national interest!

Look for legislators numbers and contact info on our website:
http://www.pinoncanyon.com/index.html

March 12th, 2007

IJ Eminent Domain Conference Details

Is the city trying to seize your property to hand over to a private developer?
Do you feel unequipped to fight tax-hungry governments and land-hungry developers?

Attend the
Castle Coalition’s Sixth Annual Eminent Domain Conference
June 8 - 10, 2007
in Old Town Alexandria, Virginia,
just outside the nation’s capital.

This year’s eminent domain conference will provide attendees with the tools needed
to effectively fight the abuse of eminent domain. Since space is limited, seats are
reserved for property owners
and activists currently facing the abuse of eminent domain for private development.

For more information, please contact Christina Walsh at cwalsh@ij.org.

March 8th, 2007

The Latest on the Superslab Proposal

From Rob Doughtery:

HB-1068 passed it’s final vote in the House today and now goes to the
Senate. We found out too late that the bill had been hijacked by industry
and government while the landowners and original authors of the bill were
excluded. Many of you (and many legislators) didn’t get the warnings until
after the vote had taken place.

Ray Wells got a bill through the House in
2005 but we were able to stop it in the Senate, that’s what we need to do
now. First we need to email the members of the President of the Senate and
the Senate Transportation Committee. It hasn’t been assigned to a committee
yet but that is the only logical choice and it’s where all of the previous
toll road bills have gone. The assignment will happen when it is first
introduced into the senate which will be very soon. So please email today.

You can read more in depth at www.frontrangetollroad.blogspot.com

March 8th, 2007

A “thank you” from Lon Robertson

“How did it go?” you ask.

It went really well!!!! We received the support of legislators that many had
thought we wouldn’t - thanks to the many folks that showed up to testify and voice
concerns and state the facts. A special thanks to the FFA and student
representatives from Hoehne and Kim and Cheraw. Wow! The future of America was
well represented and completely understood and supported by the committee members!
Thank you all.

During the discussions it was apparent that our students were being intently
listened to. Statements of their concerns and the facts they relayed along with the
patriotism that these young people displayed was paramount to our success yesterday.
Just because we don’t want the military to buy more land doesn’t in any way shape
or form mean we are not supporting our troops and their needs. Those young people
helped convey that message loudly and clearly. We all should be very proud.

Thank you Wes, for putting your efforts into getting this legislation into the
system so that our leadership in Colorado has a more full and clear understanding of
our plight in southeast Colorado. We will continue to back you and support your
continued efforts to help ultimately stop the military expansion plans and their
related intrusions on the American way of life.

While many think it may not help by stopping the military from trying to steam roll
southeast Colorado, the process itself creates opportunities for our legislators to
hear us and to understand us. Yesterday it almost seemed to beckon to them to come
forward and show their desire to protect our future generations of farmers and
ranchers along with the heritage and history of the area.

I was extremely impressed with how those legislators took interest in us and showed
genuine concern for the future of our state and that future includes southeastern
Colorado. They stood equal to the task and showed tremendous support for their
fellow Coloradoans.

The next step is the consideration and vote of the entire Colorado House of
Representatives. We will keep everyone posted and hope to increase our presence at
each and every step from this point and on to the Colorado Senate.

Below are some links to different news stories and information related to yesterday.

http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/11187245/detail.html

http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/government/article/0,2777,DRMN239065400491,00.html

http://www.9news.com/news/article.aspx?storyid=65924

http://www.gazette.com/onset?id=19783&template=article.html

http://story.coloradostar.com/index.php/ct/9/cid/c5561a463525350d/id/7257957/

http://www.chieftain.com/metro/1173259568/2

http://groups.google.com/group/cobirds/browse_thread/thread/a51ea41e19a8ae71/105c708d8d6d9711?q=Pinon+Canyon&rnum=2#105c708d8d6d9711

Download this as a file

Attachments:

untitled-[2] 5.5 k [ text/html ] Download | View

March 7th, 2007

Front Page of the RMN: House Committee Opposes Army Expansion Plans

A House committee voted 7-4 Tuesday to side with southeast Colorado ranchers who oppose Fort Carson’s planned Pinon Canyon Maneuver Site expansion, even though the representatives acknowledged the state cannot halt the federal government’s taking of the vast acreage through eminent domain.

“We got in there the part we wanted,” said State Rep. Wes McKinley, D-Walsh, the bill’s sponsor, taking a half-a-loaf-is-better-than-no-loaf approach to the vote after almost four hours of testimony. He said language to guarantee that ranchers are paid fair prices for the land, which in some cases has been in families for generations, will be added to his bill as it advances.

Lon Robertson, a Branson rancher who is president of the Pinon Canyon Expansion Opposition Coalition, said the hearing “got attention for the issue.” He said the vote “makes a statement.”

An unusual coalition of patriotic ranching families, who cited the veterans in their families, and anti-war activists, who bashed the Army, joined ranks to support the bill.

Bethani Rodriguez, a member of the Future Farmers of America at the Hoehne School, told legislators the rural way of the life would be lost if the Army displaces ranchers and farmers to almost triple the training area to accommodate its force, which is to grow from 16,000 troops to 25,000 troops by 2009.

“The lifestyle would be lost, and you could never compensate people in any way for the loss of their livelihood,” the student.

Anti-war, anti-violence activists cautioned that the Army is pushing the nation toward World War III.

“I am concerned that the state of Colorado is going to become even more a war zone than it already is,” said Mag Seaman, of Denver. “We know war and preparations for war are the single most devastating activity on the planet.”

Although the bill originally intended to block the federal government from acquiring land for military training through eminent domain proceedings, the lawyer who drafted the bill and others on the committee said the long-established legal principle is that a state does not have the authority to stop the federal government from using eminent domain as the method for obtaining land for national purposes.

Committee members agreed to pursue the concept of the state sharing jurisdiction, presuming the federal government acquires the land through eminent domain, on such issues as environmental rules dealing with water and minerals.

Copyright 2007, Rocky Mountain News. All Rights Reserved.

March 1st, 2007

From Pinon Canyon Ranchers: Help Us By Attending Committee Bill Hearing

Representative Wes McKinley has advised us that his and Senator Kester’s bill, House
Bill 07-1069, will be heard for the first time in committee on Tuesday, March 6th.

It will be at the Capital at 1:30pm Tuesday afternoon. Wes will advise the location
in the capital (room) and I will forward it to everyone as soon as he does.

Many of us are planning to attend and listen to the discussion of the bill and offer
Representative McKinley and Senator Kester our support.

Anyone and everyone that can turn out to support our legislators that are supporting
us will be helpful.