Baxter Black Wades into Pinon Canyon Fight

Chuck Zimmerman over at AgWired found this story out of the Ag Journal today…

Nearly 400 people packed the Koshare Kiva Saturday to hear Baxter Black, America’s most recognizable cowboy poet and storyteller, perform a benefit for the Not 1 More Acre organization. Not 1 More Acre has filed a lawsuit in federal district court in Denver to stop the U.S. Army from expanding Pinon Canyon Maneuver Site. Briefs have been filed in district court and are being reviewed by Judge Richard Matsch, who hasn’t issued a statement on how he might let the case proceed.

The event Saturday night, though, was to help the threesome who started Not 1 More Acre – rancher Mack Louden, Jim Herrwll from Otero Junior College, and Jean Aguerre from the Trinidad area – offset the tremendous costs in fighting the legal battles in court.

The biggest difference Army officials who have proposed expanding its 238,000-acre maneuver site in Las Animas County is that, “They will look you in the eye and tell you, ‘It’s not personal.”

“Anytime you put up with your land being taken, you tell them, ‘It’s personal,’” Black said.

Its good to see heavy hitters like Baxter coming out to help the cause of family farmers and ranchers. CFB’s own Ken Schweitzer was quoted in the story as saying

“ It doesn’t look like it would directly hurt us, but it would. It would destroy our area.”