Tami West in her backyard in Pioneer Village in Rancho Colorado subdivision south of Colorado Springs in 2005. By Carol Lawrence, the Gazette file

Tami West doesn’t mind living on a desert. After all, Rancho Colorado isn’t much different with its barren sand hills, arroyos and cactus.

Howeer, she doesn’t want to live on a desert island. But that’s kind of how it feels to her.

She says the Army and El Paso County are turning the 50 or so homeowners in Pioneer Village, in the north section of the rural subdivision south of Colorado Springs on the Pueblo County border.

The county, acting on behalf of the Pentagon, is buying vacant land in Rancho Colorado. Since 2005, it has bought about 120 lots and 937 acres at a cost of $4.1 million. Generally, it pays about $3,000 an acre.

The idea is to stop development on the edges of the post and create a 1.5-mile buffer zone around Fort Carson. Here’s a look at the property purchased to date.

Officials say 30 million old tires are buried up to 35 feet deep at a 58-acre dump in Midway, near Rancho Colorado subdivision. This is a September 2010 Gazette photo.

Rancho Colorado sits behind the sprawling 553-acre Waste Management landfill, and the 58-acre dump where 30 million old tires are buried, as well as the 76-acre Black Hills Energy plant with its network of high-voltage powerlines and near the 200-acre Pikes Peak International Raceway track.

And it is snug up against the southeast edge of Fort Carson. And just a half-mile from its artillery range.

Can you say Ka-BOOM!

Here’s another map of the neighborhood:

Here’s a story we ran in 2005 as the county embarked on the program.

And here’s a link to a website talking about other efforts to create a buffer zone using conservation easements and working in concert with the Nature Conservancy.

Follow this link to an Army website talking about the buffer zone project. On the site, click on the link to “Army Compatible Use Buffers.”