Friday, August 12, 2005
Landowners Around Cannon Base Agree To Sell

Associated Press
   
   CLOVIS — Property owners near Cannon Air Force Base have agreed to sell land to enable the base to nearly double in size — an effort aimed at keeping the Pentagon from shutting it down.
    Gov. Bill Richardson and Clovis Mayor David Lansford announced the agreement Friday, and were faxing a letter about the deal to the Base Realignment and Closure Commission in Washington, D.C.
    The proposed land acquisitions, about 3,000 acres worth, would let the Air Force expand Cannon without cost to itself, the two said in the letter.
    The independent commission is reviewing the Defense Department's military recommendations and must send its list to the president by Sept. 8. It then goes to Congress, which must accept it or reject it in its entirety.
    Cannon, adjacent to Clovis, is one of 33 major bases around the country targeted for closure as part of the Base Realignment and Closure process. The Pentagon has estimated it would save $2.7 billion over 20 years by closing Cannon, costing more than 2,700 base jobs and about 2,000 more indirect jobs.
    The base's economic impact has been estimated at $200 million a year — about a third of the economy in the Clovis community of about 36,000.
    Supporters have expressed frustration that the recommendation to close the eastern New Mexico base, home to F-16 units, did not take into account the fact the Air Force has been working to expand the training range around Cannon.
    The letter from Richardson and Lansford said the effort to acquire land shows that the base is protected against encroachment and is positioned for expansion.
    The potential land acquisition will allow Cannon's facilities and runways to expand, paving the way for future growth to accommodate the F-35 joint strike fighter training mission, unmanned missions, airborne labor missions, continuing F-16 millions and A-10 missions, the letter said.
    "We encourage you to seriously consider this new agreement as you decide the fate of Cannon Air Force Base and its future role as part of the military mission of the United States,'' the two men wrote.
    Richardson also pledged $5 million in state funds to help Clovis buy the land from the private landowners willing to sell to allow for the expansion.