September 05, 2007 10:25 PM UTC

Sen. Salazar Will Support Bipartisan Pinon Canyon Bill

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• by: Colorado Pols

For those of you following the Pinon Canyon story, Sen. Ken Salazar announced earlier this month that he was working on a weaker proposal than that passed by a strong bipartisan coalition in the House before the summer break, including his brother Rep. John Salazar and Rep. Marilyn Musgrave.

Sen. Salazar also made some disturbing equivocations about the military’s proposed expansion of the Pinon Canyon training area recently, and with Colorado’s other Senator Wayne Allard more or less parroting whatever script the Army puts in front of him, Salazar’s unenthusiastic defense of his fellow ranchers was heavily criticized.

But as the Denver Post reports this afternoon:

Sen. Ken Salazar plans to announce this afternoon that he supports legislation already passed in the House that would block the Army from expanding its Pinon Canyon training site for one year.

Salazar, a Democrat, will back the amendment sponsored by his brother, Rep. John Salazar, D-Manassa, and Rep. Marilyn Musgrave, R-Fort Morgan, three sources familiar with the plan told The Denver Post.

The Salazar-Musgrave amendment bans the Army from using any of its funding for the expansion. That restricts the military from proceeding with an Environmental Impact Study.

Salazar, in a future military spending bill, also will require the Army to detail why it needs additional land.

The decision comes after Salazar visited farmers and other land owners in the area, who pushed for more than Sen. Salazar’s original plan to block the Army from using the government’s power to force land sales, known as eminent domain.

Salazar’s support is crucial to keep the amendment in the spending bill.