TRINIDAD - Sen. Ken Salazar pledged Tuesday to press the Army for full justification on expanding its Piñon Canyon Maneuver Site and get any ranchland condemnation process "off the table."

In what he called "fact-finding mode," Salazar met with county commissioners from Baca, Huerfano, Las Animas and Otero counties before a capacity crowd at the Las Animas County Courthouse.

The hearing was arranged after Acting Secretary of the Army Peter Geren wrote Salazar that the Army is going "back to the drawing board" regarding its approach to expand the existing 235,000- acre training site.

To a man, the local officials urged Salazar to oppose the Army's plans.

"I don't think the Army needs this expansion," said Huerfano County Commissioner Scott King. "It doesn't matter what they plan, we're talking about people's lives, not pieces of land."

Las Animas County Commissioner Gary Hill was just as adamant. "We're not for sale," he said.

All four counties have adopted resolutions opposing the expansion.

Salazar arrived in Trinidad courtesy of an Army helicopter, taking an aerial tour of the 654,000 acres comprising both the existing training site and areas targeted for expansion.

He faced the officials - and more than 200 people at an expansion-opposition rally on the courthouse lawn - with the expressed purpose of seeking a "win- win" situation between the Army and area ranchers.

"The Army tells me they need this expansion, but we need a much better explanation," Salazar said. "If there are no willing sellers, then that's the end of the story."

Ranchers fear there will be no way to stop the taking of their land through eminent domain if the Army is allowed to proceed. Several commissioners urged Salazar to follow the lead of his brother, U.S. Rep. John Salazar, who teamed with Rep. Marilyn Musgrave to stop Piñon Canyon expansion funding in the House version of a military spending bill.

Salazar said it would be harder to get his brother's amendment through the Senate, but admitted he wouldn't want the Army to condemn his own family's homestead in the San Luis Valley.

Salazar also pressed the commissioners about possible economic benefits of increased military presence in the region. No one agreed that a battalion of 500 soldiers stationed on the site would make up for the loss of ranchland.

In fact, Baca County Commissioner Spike Ausmus said a wind power company recently hedged about investing in the area because of the possible military expansion.

If the Army and the ranchers both want the same land, a win-win situation seems improbable.

"If we thought one soldier's life would be saved by the expansion, we'd be for it," said Lon Robertson, of the Piñon Canyon Expansion Opposition Coalition. "The Army's not even using the land they have, and now they want more."

Salazar vowed to get answers from the Army, but he'll have a hard time convincing a community that feels burned by the eminent domain proceedings that created the present maneuver site.

Tyrel Barry, a 16-year-old member of the Hoehne Future Farmers of America, was there with his blazer and tie, handing out "Our Land Is Our Life" stickers. He said his family lost its livestock ranch to the Army in 1983 and their replacement property is now in Army sights.

"It didn't work the first time," he said, "and I don't see how it could work this time."