Rachers triumph over land battle with the feds... for now anyway

DENVER -- It's sort of like robbing Peter to pay Paul, as the old saying goes.

But in this case, Peter is a rancher and Paul is the U.S. Army.

Gov. Bill Ritter and most Colorado lawmakers have taken Peter's side, and are hoping to stop the Army from using eminent domain to expand a military training site in southern Colorado.

Ritter signed a bill Thursday that removes the federal government's option to use eminent domain to obtain land for military purposes.

The hope is that it would prevent the Army from condemning land to expand its Piñon Canyon training site by 653 square miles -- almost triple the land the Army already has. The expansion would absorb dozens of ranches.

With Ritter's signature on House Bill 1069, the state is basically saying "no" to the federal government.

"It's never been done," Rep. Wes McKinley, D-Walsh, says with some pride.

That means there's no precedent. There is no way to determine whether this is allowed, without some kind of legal ruling. Might the Supreme Court take notice?

McKinley, a professional cowboy with a fierce -- and very Western -- independent streak, shrugs and says, maybe so.

He invokes the Founding Fathers when he talks about the injustice of the Army's plans.

"The Declaration of Independence talks about the king keeping a standing army without the colonies' consent," he said.

The Constitution's framers specifically addressed that.

The Third Amendment prevents quartering soldiers inside private homes without the owner's consent. And Article 1, Section 8 of the U.S. Constitution gives the federal government license over state lands, but it says they must be purchased with the states' permission.

The section says the Congress shall have power to "exercise exclusive legislation ... over all places purchased by the consent of the legislature of the state ... for the erection of forts, magazines, arsenals, dockyards, and other needful buildings."

Colorado's constitution comports with this section, saying the state gives consent to the federal government "by purchase, condemnation, or otherwise, of any land in the state" required for things like post offices, arsenals or whatever else the feds might need.

"Colorado has to give consent for the U.S. government to own or purchase land here," McKinley said last month, explaining his bill. "We haven't taken the consent away -- we've just defined it."

The new definition, which will be inserted into the state constitution, says the state is not giving its OK for land the Defense Department wants to get through eminent domain.

Eminent domain is the government's power to force a landowner to sell to make way for a public project.

Opponents of McKinley's measure have argued that it's unconstitutional because of Article 1, Section 8, which gives the federal government the right to take land.

"Well, the Constitution also gives the state the right to keep it," McKinley said.

All northern Colorado lawmakers voted yes on the bill. The few detractors were from Colorado Springs, but even some members of that city's delegation supported it.

Springs leaders have said expanding Piñon Canyon could help Fort Carson, which could bring economic growth to the Springs region.

But that's robbing Peter to pay Paul, McKinley said.

"It's kind of sad that we can be taking property away from someone to give someone else an economic gain," he said.

Now that state leaders have effectively said no to their federal counterparts, it will be interesting to see what the Army does. Or the courts, for that matter.

* It's all over but the shouting

The first session of the 66th Colorado General Assembly drew to a close Friday. Now lawmakers, interest groups, the press and the public get to spend the next few weeks reflecting on what happened in the whirlwind 115 days.

Stay tuned next week for Tribune analysis and Weld County lawmakers' varying thoughts about the 2007 legislative session.

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At the Capitol is a weekly analysis column featuring topics of interest in the Colorado Legislature. To suggest ideas for this space, contact reporter Rebecca Boyle at (970) 392-4415 or rboyle@greeleytribune.com.