An unlikely coalition of patriotic ranchers and anti-war activists joined forces Tuesday at the state Capitol to oppose a planned Army expansion in southeast Colorado.

They won the support of the House State, Veterans & Military Affairs Committee.

The panel voted 7-4 against Fort Carson's Piñon Canyon Maneuver Site expansion, even though lawmakers acknowledged that the state cannot halt the federal government's taking of the vast acreage through eminent domain.

"We got in there the part we wanted," said State Rep. Wes McKinley, D-Walsh, the bill's sponsor, after almost four hours of testimony.

He said that language to guarantee that ranchers are paid fair prices for the land, which has been in some families for generations, will be added to his bill as it advances.

Lon Robertson, president of the Piñon Canyon Expansion Opposition Coalition, said the hearing "got attention for the issue." He said the vote "makes a statement."

Bethani Rodriguez, a member of the National FFA Organization at the Hoehne School, told legislators the area's rural lifestyle would be lost if the Army displaces ranchers and farmers.

The Army has said the training area needs to expand to accommodate Fort Carson's troop strength, which is to grow from 16,000 troops to 25,000 troops by 2009.

"The lifestyle would be lost, and you could never compensate people in any way for the loss of their livelihood," the student said.

Anti-war, anti-violence activists cautioned that the Army is pushing the nation toward World War III.

"I am concerned that the state of Colorado is going to become even more a war zone than it already is," said Mag Seaman, of Denver.

House Bill 1069 originally intended to block the federal government from acquiring land for military training through eminent domain proceedings. But the lawyer who drafted the bill, and others on the committee, said that the long-established legal principle is that a state does not have the authority to stop the federal government from using eminent domain to obtain land for national purposes.

Piñon Canyon maneuver site

• Location: About 30 miles northeast of Trinidad and 160 miles south of Denver.

• Proposed addition: 418,577 acres, or 654 square miles. The expanded site would cover 1,022 square miles.

• History: Acquired by the Army in the early 1980s, about half through eminent domain.

• Uses: Non-live-fire training for large units using heavy equipment such as tanks, personnel carriers and helicopters.Source: Associated Press

garnerj@RockyMountainNews.com or 303-954-5421