Thread: border trash is major issue for So. Arizona landowners

BLM report shows border trash is major issue for So. Arizona land

By Jonathan Shacat/WICK COMMUNICATIONS
BISBEE - It's a long-standing concern of border-security proponents: Illegal immigration and smuggling cause significant environmental damage, says a report recently released by the Bureau of Land Management.

The annual report for fiscal 2006 details efforts by the bureau and partner organizations to mitigate the impacts on lands in Southern Arizona.

Deborah E. Stevens, public affairs specialist for the Bureau of Land Management, said the purpose of the report is to build public awareness and get attention to the issue.

"Tremendous numbers of people and organizations are doing work. We kind of want to let people know what we are doing and what kind of project work is going on," said Shela McFarlin, special assistant for international programs for the bureau.

More than 225,000 pounds of trash related to smuggling were collected, according to a press release on the report. Another 900,000 pounds of litter that resulted from both smuggling and illegal dumping were removed.

About 24 million pounds of trash cover thousands of acres of public and tribal lands. The most visible items are drinking bottles, clothing and food refuse.

Illegal roads and trails cause damages to resources on the landscape. There are also damages to infrastructure, such as gates, ranges, fences and water tanks.

Also as a result of the project, more than 75 projects were completed, ranging from cattleguard repair to re-vegetation. The project also involved rehabilitating more than 100 routes and maintaining 26 miles of roads.

Also removed were more than 130 abandoned vehicles and 1,902 abandoned bicycles. Removal of the vehicles, which are often burned, is difficult and expensive because care must be exercised to avoid further damage to the environment.

"Across federal and tribal lands in southern Arizona, significant natural and cultural resources are also being damaged, along with sensitive wildlife habitats," says the release.

W. Richard Hodges, a rancher who owns property along the border, said the impact of illegal immigration is also evident on his private land in Cochise County. "The migrant trails are substantial," Hodges said. "I can run 30 head of cows, and they can go to different points on my pasture, and a cow path will be 18 to 20 inches wide, and it's six or eight inches deep."

"Where the illegal immigrants walk, I've got a path that is 36 inches wide," he continued. "Nothing grows along it and there is every kind of piece of garbage you can imagine."

He has found numerous items on his land, including cell phones, baby diapers, plastic bottles, backpacks and clothing.

The BLM report is online: blm.gov/az/st/en/info/newsroom/undocumented_aliens.htm.

Sierra Vista Herald Reporter Jonathon Shacat can be reached at 515-4693 or by e-mail at jonathon.shacat@bisbeereview.net.


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It's a major concern in Ca, as well. I've found everything you can think of on my property including a smugglers abandoned motorhome with a dead body in it.

And isn't it funny how the tree hugger groups are only worried about the environmental impacts of a fence.
Never mind about the amount of damage being done by all the causes listed above.

Another reason why many environmentalist groups are a waste of time. They love to complain about how everything impacts the environment, but they are damn ignorant when it comes to providing solutions.