SOS Forests

How Not to Manage the Border

The US Fish and Wildlife Service manages the Buenos Aires National Wildlife Refuge in south Arizona, on the Mexican border. So-called “humanitarian” groups have requested that the Refuge establish drinking water stations for the thousands of illegal border crossers who travel through the Refuge.

Plan would clear way for water stations on Buenos Aires refuge

Dale Quinn, Arizona Daily Star, April 4, 2010 [here]

Officials are asking for public input on a proposal to establish and maintain drinking water stations in the Buenos Aires National Wildlife Refuge to prevent migrant deaths in the rugged terrain southwest of Tucson.

The proposal signals a resolution to a standoff between refuge officials and humanitarian groups that have left gallon-jugs of water on illegal immigrant trails southeast of Arivaca.

“We tried to reach a happy medium,” said refuge manager Michael Hawkes.

Refuge staffers and representatives from the aid organizations have been working together for months on ideas about positioning water stations in a way that causes the least impact to sensitive wildlife, said Gene Lefebvre, a retired minister and co-founder of No More Deaths.

Volunteers from No More Deaths, Samaritans and Humane Borders have received littering tickets in several instances over the past two years for putting out jugs on refuge land.

A prosecutor recently asked the court to dismiss charges against 13 people who had placed water jugs, Lefebvre said. …

“Humanitarian aid” is not what that plan would achieve. Encouraging illegal border crossers leads to frequent deaths of the illegals and to legal residents, via murder and other violence. Border deaths in Arizona exceed 200 per year. Enticing illegal transit through a wildlife refuge is a crime against humanity and the environment.

From the Draft Compatibility Determination [here]

The Buenos Aires Ranch, located in Pima County, Arizona, was recommended for purchase in the 1977 Recovery Plan for protection and recovery of the endangered masked bobwhite quail. Congress approved funding for purchase of the central part of the ranch under authority of the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended; and the Fish and Wildlife Act of 1956, as amended, authorizing expenditure of funds for habitat acquisition. The Refuge was officially established in 1985. … Habitat restoration and the existence of a self-sustaining population of masked bobwhite quail remains a primary goal of the Refuge.

The Refuge, as well as other public lands along the United States/Mexico border, experienced a tremendous increase in illegal border crossers moving through the area; reaching a peak in 2006-2007 when an estimated 250,000-300,000 traveled through the Refuge annually. In recent years, largely due to erection of a 7-mile pedestrian border fence, these numbers have declined significantly to approximately 31,500 in 2008 and 20,700 in 2009. It is still common to have 50 to 60 illegal border crossers traveling through the Refuge each night. Because of this amount of illegal border traffic and the hot, dry terrain they travel across, lives have been threatened and occasionally lost due to dehydration, illness, and murder (see Table 1). The last dehydration fatality to occur on the Refuge was in May 2008. Most illegal border crossers are actively traveling during nighttime hours. …

Additional impacts include:

Trash – During 2009, up to 51 tons of litter were left on the Refuge by an estimated 20,700 illegal border crossers. Each border crosser leaves and estimated 3 to 5 pounds of trash on the Refuge. Furthermore, humanitarian organizations have placed thousands of one-gallon water containers and cans of food in and adjacent to the Refuge, exacerbating the larger problem of litter and environmental pollution.

Trails - More than 1,300 miles of illegal trails have been created on the Refuge by illegal border crossers. The direct damage is more than 300 acres of denuded vegetation, erosion, and wildlife disturbance throughout the Refuge as a result of increased human presence.

Illegal Roads – In the course of attempting to evade law enforcement officers, illegal border crossers have created several miles of unauthorized roads on the Refuge which are now also utilized by CBP agents. Due to the delicate nature of the soils on this Refuge, driving on an area just a couple times can create a permanent road.

Wildfire - Several fires are started each year by illegal border crossers resulting in significant environmental damage and substantial cost to the government. A single fire started in the vicinity of the Refuge in 2009 by an illegal border crosser burned over 23,000 acres and cost federal and state government $1.2 million to suppress.

Livestock Trespass - Illegal border crossers often damage or cut fences or leave gates open, which allows cattle to enter the Refuge. This directly impacts the Refuge’s wildlife habitat management program and subjects neighboring ranches to disease transmission from untreated Mexican livestock.

Increased Crime and Compromised Security – Illegal border crossers have stolen Refuge vehicles, burglarized government quarters and offices, and committed vandalism. This has forced the Refuge into a defensive position that has required installation of expensive security infrastructure and the hiring of additional law enforcement officers.

Indirect Impacts – Diversion from wildlife management as staff coordinate with CBP and humanitarian organizations and address the various security risks to staff, volunteers,
and the public.