One rancher's solution to the 'Mexican invasion'
By Graham McLeod Freelance contributor

In this second part of a twopart series on illegal immigration and its impact on states bordering Mexico, Orangeville resident Graham McLeod looks at the effect the problem poses for ranchers.


sentex Photo/GRAHAM MCLEOD Rancher Bud Strom, in his sweat-stained Stetson.

Drug smugglers are only one of the concerns for Bud Strom and other ranchers along the U.S.- Mexican border.

Strom owns and operates the Single Star Ranch near Hereford, Arizona, 70 miles [110 km] southeast of Tucson. (How we came to meet this likable and accomplished gentleman will be explained later.) The ranch, slightly larger than 1,000 acres, sits between Highway 92 and the Mexican border, a few miles from the ranch's southern boundary. It is a peaceful-looking and scenic landscape, set between the San Pedro River valley to the east and the Huachuca Mountains to the west (pronounced 'Wah-chooka').

At 9:15 on a February morning we turn off the highway to tour the ranch. It is a typical mid-winter day in the Sonoran desert: sunny and clear with the temperature near 50F (10C). The elevation is 4,800 feet above sea level.

The Single Star is a working ranch, as attested by Bud's attire — worn jeans, well-used boots and a sweat-stained Stetson.

The ranch is part of a much larger tract of land that has had cattle grazing on it since the late 1880s. Bud acquired his acreage twenty years ago after it had sat idle for some years.

Bud is a strong advocate of natural farming and employs tried and tested techniques to get the most out of his land and produce the desired product. The ranch is divided into a series of paddocks through which he rotates his 150 head of herefords, moving them from one to another as the supply dictates.

The grasslands were sparse this past winter because it hadn't rained in the region for nine months, and it's unlikely they will flourish again until torrential thunderstorms occur during the monsoon season in July and August. For now the cattle must be fed alfalfa pellets to augment their diet. Each fall Bud has no trouble marketing his allnatural beef to repeat customers.

After a get-acquainted chat in the bunk house, formerly the 'teasing barn', and a walk- through of a two-story adobe barn that houses his small stable of horses, we headed off in the ranch's pick-up truck to tour the range.

As we drove slowly over the rutted lanes we learned firsthand about the problems the border crossers create for ranchers like Strom.

It is easy to see why the illegal entrants and drug smugglers frequently trespass across his land. The relatively flat ground dotted with palo verde trees and mesquite bushes makes for easy walking compared to trails through the nearby mountains.

Border crossers open gates between the paddocks, cut the barbed wire fencing, and leave their garbage behind for the cattle to munch on, sometimes with fatal results. Pieces of broken glass or plastic bottles, discarded food containers, and pills taken by border crossers to stay awake ('uppers' for instance) have all been found in the stomachs of animals. Discarded clothing and knapsacks are often found rotting in the desert as well.

Diseases prevalent in many parts of Central and South America — hoof and mouth or hookworm, for instance — could turn up in local herds, veterinarians fear. Human waste could be also be a possible source of disease. In the rollover accident mentioned above, two of the injured had full-blown cases of chickenpox. The passengers were all from Equador or Guatamala.

When Strom spots crossers (he doesn't sit up nights watching for them!) he calls the 'green and white taxi service,' as he refers to the Border Patrol, whose vehicles are white with green stripes. Depending on the activity in the sector at the time, they respond fairly quickly and apprehend the entrants before they get much further. On occasion he has been approached for food or water and has never refused.

Drug smugglers have also crossed his property — he showed us a sturdy metal gate that a vehicle, no doubt a large pick-up truck, had buckled as it smashed through hightailing it back to Mexico.

On one occasion, he found a discarded trash compactor on the ranch, probably left behind after being used to compress large bales of marijuana into smaller and thus more easily hidden packages.

He is very aware that drug smugglers are probably armed and never seeks a confrontation with trespassers. The only weapon he has on hand is a revolver loaded with 'snake shot'. Why? To dispatch a rattlesnake that has bitten one of his animals. The snakes are hibernating now, though, and won't be a nuisance until the warmer months.

As the bite is usually in the animal's nose area, causing it to swell up, the first action he takes is to shove a short length of flexible plastic tubing up a nostril to help it breathe until anti-snakebite serum can be administered. Coyotes, the four-legged variety, preying on newborn calves are also a problem.

The weapon issue has raised Strom's ire on occasion. He has been interviewed by most major networks and featured in a front page article of the New York Times.

During one interview he was urged to draw his revolver for the cameras. When he refused, the crew stopped filming and ended the interview. It seems they were more interested in creating the impression of a gun-toting rancher ready to take on smugglers than the real story.

Bud has had a few humourous encounters, too. In one, a lone man knocked on his door after crossing from Mexico. He didn't speak either Spanish or English. It took a few minutes for Budusing a smattering of foreign languages and hand signals-to find out that the interloper was from Sicily and wanted to get to Nashua, New Hampshire, thousands of miles away.

Could Bud call him a taxi? Of course! Bud hit the speed dial for the Border Patrol, directed the man to walk down the lane and wait at the highway for the green and white taxi. What his reaction was when the Border Patrol 'taxi' arrived to arrest him can only be imagined!

The federal government is taking steps, albeit controversial ones, to stem the tide of illegal border crossers. For each of the last three fiscal years, over one million illegal entrants have been deported to Mexico.

Homeland Security has proposed the construction of a 700 mile-long fence as part of the solution. Parts of it have already been erected, consisting of 40 ft high metal panels. 'Build a 40 ft fence, and they will counter with a 45 ft ladder', critics have argued. Or tunnel under it.The border area between Mexico and the Single Star Ranch is still open land.

Another measure being tried is a series of towers housing radar, cameras and motion detectors. It is hoped that this 'virtual fence' will vastly increase the percentage of aliens caught crossing the border. The Department of Homeland Security [DHS] has erected one on Bud's ranch, for which he receives a modest stipend.

Ideally, when activity is detected the signal is fed to a central complex in Naco, Arizona, twenty miles to the east, and Border Patrol agents can take action to intercept the illegal entrants. DHS plans to install similar

towers along the Canada-US border. The total for both borders calls for 1,800 towers at an estimated cost of $2 billion.

The system is not foolproof, though, and the detectors on towers, like the one on the Single Star Ranch, are susceptible to false readings caused by a number of factors. A similar line of nine towers on the border southwest of Tucson are to be replaced with a newer version that the Boeing Corporation, the contractor, hopes will overcome the drawbacks in the present system.

Bud Strom has no easy answers to the overall problem, because, as he admits, there aren't any. One of the major hurdles that may never be overcome is the attitude south of the border. Authorities at all levels are bribed to look the other way as the coyotes assemble their charges. Cananea, for instance, is a large town less than 20 miles from the Single Star Ranch and a known major assembly point for would-be border crossers.

For now, Bud can only continue as he has for years, clean up after them, repair the broken fences, and watch for signs of injury or health problems to his livestock.

And he hopes that the worst doesn't happen — acts of terrorism that can be attributed to or abetted by persons who have crossed the vast open border, or an epidemic affecting large numbers of the U.S. population spread by unwitting carriers who have also entered the country illegally.

* * *

Bud Strom grew up on a ranch in Montana and joined the U.S. Army in his teens. During a 30-year career he rose to the rank of Brigadier-General, designated by a star on his uniform and an easy call when naming his ranch.

Bud is also a widely known and popular 'Cowboy Poet', and that is how we came to meet him. Cowboy Poets — males and females of all ages — tell about everyday life on ranches throughout their poetry. The tales can be funny, sad, or philosophical, but are always based on true experiences. They are much like balladiers who sing their stories.

Gatherings take place throughout the US west and attract large audiences to listen to as many as 50 or more artists recite their works.

We first heard Bud this past February at the annual three-day gathering in Sierra Vista, Arizona, not far from his ranch. He has also taught poetry to thousands of school children in the area for many years. He has a great CD available titled 'Lightning & Angels' with 19 of his poems on it. Google 'bud strom' for lots of information on Bud and other Cowboy Poets.

This is the conclusion of a two-part series. A former Citizen columnist, Graham McLeod and his wife Pat, a former Orangeville councilor, were in Arizona earlier this year. Part 1 can be found by searching 'Arizona' in the archive at www.citizen.on.ca.
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