Saturday, June 2, 2012

Drones over Taos: The Pinon Canyon Opposition: Anti-Drone Ordinance

There is a lot to read and absorb here, however from a Bear's perspective, I think that informing yourself may be one of the most important things you can do. This is not about "protecting" our nation, this is about Military Tactical training maneuvers in populated areas. The populations I speak of are not just of the two-legged variety, it is four leggeds, winged ones, livestock...well the whole ecosystem that will be effected. The area stretches from Cannon AFB in New Mexico to Southern Colorado. In addition to this, both Cannon AFB and Fort Carson Base, have produced EIS's that say that there will be little effect on life as we now know it, despite clear and unrelenting opposition from New Mexico and Colorado citizens, farmers, ranchers and families. Last year a military copter hovered over the field I was planting. Think about this.

I want to thank Keith Mc Henry for sending the following to me via email.
The following consists of information out of Colorado, and then there are a lot of links provided to educate yourself about the national Drone issue, AND a sample Anti-Drone Ordinance for your city/town or area.


The Pinon Canyon Expansion Opposition Coalition

These concerns include the Department of Defense waiver which authorizes expansion and remains in effect, as well as ongoing concerns about military expansions such as Fort Carson's Combat Aviation Brigade, CAB, and Canon Air Force Base's Special Operations Low Altitude Tactical Aviation, LATN proposal.   
http://www.westword.com/2011-02-24/news/why-the-army-wanted-to-buy-southeastern-colorado/

Pinon Canyon Expansion Opposition Coalition
For more information contact
Doug Holdread- doug@holdread.com 719-680-3933
Lon Robertson- lonr@ghvalley.net 719-980-5114
http://pinoncanyon.org/http://www.facebook.com/pages/Pinon-Canyon-Expansion-Opposition-Coalition/288653051961


NEWS REPORTS

UPDATE: Big shots to visit Pinon Canyon; are drones coming?
Posted by Pam Zubeck on Tue, Mar 20, 2012 at 3:35 PM
http://www.csindy.com/IndyBlog/archives/2012/03/20/update-big-shots-to-visit-pinon-canyon-are-drones-coming
Col. Robert McLaughlin, garrison commander at Fort Carson, says the tour of the Pinon Canyon Maneuver Site has nothing to do with an effort to land an unmanned aerial vehicle training facility in Colorado.



Colorado Springs Independent
  
Environmental report on Carson's CAB released
Posted by Pam Zubeck on Wed, Jan 4, 2012

 
A heavy combat aviation brigade at Fort Carson that would include
would have very little impact on the environment, according to a draft Environmental Assessment released Tuesday for public comment.
 
Public meetings from 6 to 8 p.m. are scheduled for later this month:
Monday, Jan. 23 at Trinidad State Junior College, Trinidad.
Tuesday, Jan. 24 at Otero Junior College, La Junta.
Thursday, Jan. 26 at Crowne Plaza Hotel, Colorado Springs.
 
To comment: 
Comments by the public, government agencies, other appropriate entities, and stakeholders may be submitted at the above-mentioned public meetings or sent to the U.S. Army Environmental Command (USAEC) during the applicable published comment period. Comments can be sent by e-mail to USARMY.JBSA.AEC.MBX@mail.mil or mailed to: Public Comments USAEC, Attn: IMPA - AE (Kropp), 2450 Connell Road (Building 2264), Fort Sam Houston, Texas 78234-7664. For questions regarding comment submittals, call (210) 466-1590.
In a nutshell, the study found these impacts in various  environmental categories [click]. 
 
Carson's heavy CAB would have UH-60 Black Hawks (medium lift helicopters), AH-64 Apaches (attack helicopters), and CH-47 Chinooks (heavy lift helicopters). The difference between a medium and heavy CAB is that a heavy CAB has more attack helicopters, giving it more fire-power, the EA says. Also, the CAB would maintain and operate between 600 to 700 wheeled vehicles and trucks to support aviation operations.
 
With the CAB will come new construction of facilities for brigade, battalion, and company headquarters operations, replacement and additional aircraft maintenance hangars, vehicle maintenance shops, and storage units.
 
From the EA:
To support the CAB Soldiers, Fort Carson would need to build barracks, a physical fitness facility, and a dining facility in the vicinity of CAB operational facilities. The proposed action would also require the construction of an additional fire station. Infrastructure construction would be required to provide improved access to the post resulting from CAB-related traffic, access roads, utilities, and stormwater control in support of these new facilities. Upgraded Access Control Points (ACPs) would be needed at Gates 6 and 19. Provision of utilities is anticipated to require additional sewer lift station(s), electrical substation(s), and water well(s). The support of the CAB would also require the construction of a central energy plant (CEP) to efficiently provide electricity, heating, and cooling to CAB facilities. The CEP would be a natural gas plant and would require connections to those facilities it is to support.
No CAB facilities would need to be built at the Pinon Canyon Maneuver Site, where a good portion of the fly time of the CAB would take place. "It is estimated that up to one third of CAB flight time may occur at PCMS," the EA reports. 
 
"Using the annual average CAB units training hours of 22,957 from Table 2.3-1, this would translate into an anticipated 7,652 annual average flight hours at PCMS; however, as noted in Section 2.3.2, it is believed that a more probable estimate of annual CAB flight hours is 14,880. One-third of this more probable figure indicates the anticipated average annual flight hours at PCMS would be 4,960. The stationing of a CAB at Fort Carson would not result in a significant increase in use or scheduling of PCMS. A majority of aviation operations at PCMS would be conducted to support ground operations that would have otherwise occurred without aviation support."
 
The EA states that training by mechanized ground units at PCMS would not exceed a total of 4.7 months per year, a limit established in Fort Carson's 1980 Draft and Final Environmental Impact Statements for Training Land Acquisition.
 
At Carson and PCMS, the CAB would cause the Army to increase its live-fire training activities by 6.5 percent.
All firing would take place on existing designated range facilities or in existing impact areas. The vast majority of increased firing activities would be small arms and machine gun munitions from qualification activities that Soldiers must conduct twice per year. A majority of the eastern portion of Fort Carson is dedicated to supporting live-fire activities; therefore, the majority of the maneuver training involving CAB wheeled vehicles would occur on the western half of the Installation. Ideally, battalion and brigade maneuver training would primarily occur at PCMS, within established limits, to help alleviate overcrowding at Fort Carson. In practice, travel to PCMS for maneuver training may be affected by funding, timing, and logistical concerns. CAB stationing implementation would have no impact on the current limitations on live-fire at PCMS.
As for noise, the EA found "no significant change" would be caused by the CAB, and notes the areas most affected will be Colorado Springs, the foothills area to the west, Rancho Colorado area to the east, Fountain, Widefield and Security, Penrose and Pueblo West.
 
According to the EA, adding the CAB would increase the average number of daily flights from Fort Carson from 283 to 324.
 
Soldiers are expected to begin arriving in 2013.

Sample Anti-Drone Ordinance for Your City
http://warisacrime.org/content/sample-anti-drone-ordinance-your-city

More on drones
Groups Concerned Over Arming Of Domestic Drones
http://washington.cbslocal.com/2012/05/23/groups-concerned-over-arming-of-domestic-drones/
Will armed drones be policing American cities?
http://io9.com/5913339/will-armed-drones-be-policing-american-cities

Growing Petition Urges Obama to Generate 'Do Not Kill' List
http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2012/05/31-4

Obama At Large: Where Are The Lawyers?
by Ralph Nader
http://www.commondreams.org/view/2012/05/31
Terminator Planet: A Drone-Eat-Drone World
With Its “Roadmap” in Tatters, The Pentagon Detours to Terminator Planet
by Nick Turse
http://www.commondreams.org/view/2012/05/31-7
The “Kill List” Is a Shiny Object
by Marcy Wheeler
http://www.commondreams.org/view/2012/05/31-8

America's Murderous Drone Campaign Is Fuelling Terror
by Seumas Milne
http://www.commondreams.org/view/2012/05/31-3

A Dark Grim Future and the Reaper Drone
by Robert C. Koehler
http://www.commondreams.org/view/2012/05/31-1
How Extremism is Normalized: Obama's Radical Interpretation of The Bill of Rights
by Glenn Greenwald
http://www.commondreams.org/view/2012/05/30-13