CSBJ Daily

The El Paso County Board of Commissioners learned that additional federal money is now available for the Rancho Colorado buffer zone project, adjacent to the eastern border of Fort Carson.

In 2005, Fort Carson started relying on the federal program designed to slow encroachment of development along its southeastern boundary.

The purpose of the buffer zone program is to mitigate the impacts of Fort Carson’s operations on its neighbors and to protect Fort Carson’s continued ability to effectively complete its mission, said El Paso County spokeswoman Bailey Becker.

In collaboration with The Nature Conservancy, the Colorado Springs Economic Development Corporation and El Paso County, Fort Carson and the U.S. Department of Defense authorized and initially funded the county’s purchase of approximately 40 vacant parcels in Rancho Colorado during 2006 and 2007.

Since additional funding is available, and the county and Fort Carson have identified property suitable for acquisition, they have begun to contact property owners to determine willing sellers. Neither county tax dollars nor the power of eminent domain will be used to acquire property for this project, said Commission Chairman Dennis Hisey.