Udall asks Army not to condemn land for Pinon expansion

Posted by egable on August 8th, 2008 filed in Military

Rep. Mark Udall (D) sent a letter today to Secretary of Defense Robert Gates asking the Pentagon to confirm that the Army will not use eminent domain for its proposed expansion of the Pinon Canyon Maneuver Site.

At an Aug. 6 meeting in Trinidad, Keith Eastin, assistant secretary of the Army for installations and the environment, the Army will not seek to use eminent domain to condemn any land for expansion of the existing Pinon Canyon site and instead will deal only with “willing sellers” if there is to be acquisition of any land for the expansion.

“While I have no reason to question the sincerity of Mr. Eastin’s declaration, I believe these ranchers and farmers deserve a more binding commitment that Mr. Eastin’s words are in fact true,””Udall said in a statement. “That is why I have asked Secretary Gates to confirm in writing that Assistant Secretary Eastin’s statement represents the official position of the Department of Defense.”