Dear

Overwhelming legislative support to halt the expansion efforts regarding the Pinon Canyon Maneuver Site in Colorado is being ignored by the Army. We are counting on you to hold them accountable and to push them in the appropriate direction.

For example:
" None of the funds appropriated or other wise made available in this Act may be used for any action that is related to or promotes the expansion of the boundaries or size of the Pinon Canyon Maneuver Site in southeastern Colorado. ". This language (Musgrave Salazar Amendment) is a clear and concise message from the United States Congress to the Department of Defense (DoD). Employing a public relations firm to "sell" expansion of the Pinon Canyon Maneuver Site (PCMS) disregards the intentions of the United States Congress.

A second mandate of the United States Congress regarding PCMS requires the DoD to answer specific question related to their expansion plans. The answers to these question lie within the DoD bureaucracy; a public relations firm is not necessary to answer these questions. Private invitation only meetings with selected citizens initiated by a public relations firm only shows how they are working to sell their bill of goods to the region. The DoD hired a public relations firm owned by Glenn Ballantyne. According to former District Attorney Gus Sandstrom quoted in the Pueblo Chieftain, Ballantyne's actions while president of the Pueblo Library Board were probably illegal and dertainly unethical. The only reason to hire unethical people is if you require unethical actions

Please know that we are counting on your support by voting against any expansion efforts, and getting other legislators to understand that any expansion would be a travesty. It will destroy people's lives, the towns they live in and will remove those that have cared for these fragile grasslands for generations. Stopping the expansion is best for the environment and ecology, the history and archeology and the economic health of the entire state.

Sincerely,