Jul 7, 7:43 PM EDT


Virtual towers change to start soon near Sasabe




TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) -- The virtual fence program is scheduled to resume late this month as the Boeing Co. starts replacing surveillance and communications towers in its pilot project near Sasabe and erecting others farther east near the Mexican border.

It involves more than 50 towers in all and will stretch across some 81 miles between Sasabe and Sierra Vista. The towers are intended to cut illegal immigration.

Meanwhile, a draft environmental assessment is scheduled for release on July 31 for the first seven of 11 towers covering more than 30 miles on the Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument.

Plans also call for close to a dozen more towers to cover the 56-mile Cabeza Prieta National Wildlife Refuge's border. But refuge officials worry it could jeopardize the endangered Sonoran pronghorn.

Information from: Arizona Daily Star, http://www.azstarnet.com

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