11 Most Endangered

Pinon Canyon

Year Listed: 2007
Location: , Colorado
Current Status: Endangered
Threat: Development, Poor Public Policy

Latest News

May 2009: Army officials decided that no money will be spent this year to acquire property for the Pinon Canyon expansion, and instead funds would be redirected to Ft. Polk, Louisiana. Read more.

Rancher Steve Wooten near Pinon Canyon, Colorado.

Credit: James Lindberg

Significance

In Southeastern Colorado, under uninterrupted blue skies, the Pinon Canyon area includes scenic buttes, river valleys, family ranches and historic and archeological sites that span 11,500 years. The area is threatened by the U.S. Army's plans to expand its Pinon Canyon Maneuver Site by as much as 408,000 acres, a move that could lead to forced condemnation of private lands and damage or destroy historic Santa Fe Trail monuments, ranches, and historic and prehistoric archeological sites. The Santa Fe Trail, in continual use for 60 years starting in 1821, was America's first great international commercial highway and a prominent route of exploration and western expansion. The Trail winds 1,200 miles across five states from Missouri to New Mexico. In western Kansas the Santa Fe Trail splits into two routes, with the northerly Mountain Route following the Arkansas River Valley into Colorado. In addition, this rugged and scenic area contains historic and prehistoric archeological sites, most of which have remained almost completely undisturbed. The excellent preservation and high density of sites-with features such as domestic architecture, rock art, discarded tools and food refuse items-make this an ideal area for future research.

Updates

May 2009: The Army's expansion plans for Colorado's Pinon Canyon have taken another turn. Originally, the Army announced plans to expand the Pinon Canyon Site by 400,000 acres, later scaling the plans back to 100,000 acres. The Colorado Legislature, however, recently passed a bill preventing the Army from buying or leasing any state land in the proposed expansion area. Subsequently, Army officials decided that no money would be spent this year to acquire property for the Pinon Canyon expansion, and instead funds would be redirected to Ft. Polk, Louisiana.

In 1983, U.S. Department of Defense established the Pinon Canyon Maneuver Site (PCMS), a move which displaced numerous family farms and ranches. The current proposal to expand the Maneuver Site by as much as 408,000 acres threatens to close off a scenic and culturally rich landscape from public access, damage valuable historic sites and harm the regional agricultural and tourism economy. This expansion would accelerate an already alarming rate of loss of grazing and croplands in Colorado. Since 1992, the state has lost 2.89 million acres of agricultural land. Increased rural large-lot development and weakening agricultural economies contribute to the rapid loss of agricultural land, now nearly 690 acres per day, threatening the future of rural Colorado, the statewide economy, and key natural resources.

The community surrounding the Pinon Canyon Maneuver Site is actively opposing the planned expansion and has been joined in their effort by Colorado Preservation, Inc. and other groups who hope that concerned citizens, elected officials and the U.S. Army will agree on a solution that ensures that these irreplaceable resources are not lost forever. On the larger issue of agricultural land loss, planners, preservation advocates, land conservation groups and agricultural landowners must work together to craft effective land conservation programs and support the development of markets for local agricultural products. In early 2007, The Colorado General Assembly passed a resolution to oppose the expansion, echoed by Governor Bill Ritter through his signature of the measure.