There goes the neighborhood, again

PCEOC             Pinon Canyon Expansion Opposition Coalition

We NEED YOUR HELP - There is another expansion attempt as well as an attempt to take other private property surrounding Pinon Canyon.     PLEASE COME TO THE COMMENT MEETINGS NEXT MONDAY, TUESDAY, AND THURSDAY.   Recently the Army released an Environmental Assessment (EA) for theCombat Aviation Brigade (CAB) scheduled to move to Ft. Carson.  This is important since the EA proposes CAB training at PCMS not previously stated.      The proposed action amounts to 22,957 flight hours annually over entire SE Colorado. Estimated flight time of 38-40 helicopters maneuvering over SE Colorado 5 hours per day for 120 days. So much for the peaceful enjoyment of our rural lifestyle and our cultural and biological integrity.   Flights over SE Colorado will include low-level and Nap-of-the-Earth (NOE) training. NOE is defined as:     "flight conducted at varying airspeeds as close to the earth's surface as vegetation and obstacles permit".  In many cases this means flights between 50 and 300 feet over OUR properties, not just the maneuver sites.        Unmanned drones are also part of a CAB and are expected to add significantly to the number of hours of air traffic in our region. PUBLIC COMMENT MEETINGS ARE SCHEDULED FOR 6 to 8 pm EACH EVENING: Monday, January 23rd at TSJC in Trinidad Tuesday, January 24th at Otero JR College in La Junta Thursday, January 26th at Crown Plaza in Colorado Springs Please sign the private property airspace rights declaration* and bring with you to submit at the meeting - Please be sure to send a copy to our legislators also! You can download that form from the PCEOC website by clicking on either of these links: www.pinoncanyon.com/documents/Privairspace.doc  (Word version) www.pinoncanyon.com/documents/Privairspace.pdf   (Adobe version) Copies will also be available at the meetings *Numerous courts have ruled in conformity with the 1946 Supreme Court decision that the hyper-adjacent airspace (under 500') belongs to the land and to the landowner.  The attempt by the Army to use this airspace constitutes the taking of private property - but we must advise them that we are 'posting' our property and giving them notice or lose our rights from our own inaction -  If the Army is allowed to create these low fly ways they could perhaps have legal standing to maintain them even if that means curtailing wind power production and limiting private property rights in SE Colorado.