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Friday, April 14, 2006
Last modified Friday, April 14, 2006 12:52 AM MDT

Agency warns visitors about Sierra Vista district’s cross-border traffic

BY BILL HESS

Herald/Review

SIERRA VISTA — The first of a number of signs warning people that certain areas of U.S. Forest Service land are routes for smuggling and illegal immigrants went up Thursday in Carr Canyon.

Bill Wilcox, fire manager of Coronado National Forest’s Sierra Vista Ranger District, said the idea for putting up signs came out of the forest’s leadership.

The signs will let visitors be alert, he said.

The sign states: “Travel Caution. Smuggling and illegal immigrants may be encountered in this area.”

There will be 47 signs placed throughout the Coronado National Forest.

For one area resident, it is time for people who do not know the area well to be aware of potential dangers.

“I live there,” said the woman, who asked to be identified only as Anni, as she pointed to her home close to the Forest Service boundary.

Saying she runs up the dirt Forest Service road into the canyon, Anni, who was just completing her daily five-mile jaunt, remarked it is not unusual to encounter signs of drug-smuggling and illegal-immigrant traffic.

Not too long ago, about 100 people “marched through my yard,” she said of the illegal immigrant traffic that comes out of the canyon.

The debris left by those engaged in illegal activities, including American citizens involved in drug smuggling, is disheartening, Anni said.

“There’s enough used clothing to start a secondhand store,” she said.

Chris Milich, the forest’s off highway vehicle manager, said that besides Carr Canyon, signs will be placed in Miller Canyon and Montezuma Pass in Cochise County, as well as Parker Lake, Harshaw Canyon and Kino Springs portions of the Sierra Vista Ranger District in Santa Cruz County. The forest also includes land in Graham and Pima counties.

The object is to put the signs up leading into developed recreational areas.

Milich came to Arizona two years ago after working with the Forest Service in Oregon.

“I didn’t know that much about illegal activities in the forest here,” he said.

Wilcox said that while most people who have lived in the area for a long time know about the illegal problems, tourists and newcomers are not as aware.

Milich added that many canyon areas, such as Carr, are visited by bird watchers and the signs are designed to make to be more aware of their surroundings.

Wilcox said the signs are not meant to discourage people from enjoying the forest.

“What we want is for people to be careful and cognizant of where they are,” he said.

SENIOR REPORTER Bill Hess can be reached at 515-4693.