Posted on 10/25/2007 12:07:02 PM PDT by HiJinx
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 at blm.gov/az/st/en/info/newsroom/undocumented_aliens.htm
I remember threads on this trash problem years ago....you are so right nic, people of all persuasions are starting to see what we figured out years ago.
I just don’t have the time any more. Been busy with another kind of warfare....leaves me drained at the end of the day, physically and mentally.
I think the meth problem is even worse. We’re located in
Grants Pass..
Have the environmentalists clean it up. The left wants to support them, let the left assign the task to the greens.
All I know is when I go home and there’s a dance on Saturday night at the Village Inn, I’m wondering where did these creatures come from because they don’t look like anything that was “home grown” in Glendale. And that’s after I calculate in the “hippy” factor!
“indigenous aliens”
Interesting oxymoron.
“Posted, No Trespassing, Survivors Will Be Prosecuted”
I think you left something out.
At a farm near me, they have a sign that reads:
"Trespassers will be SHOT!
Survivors will be Prosecuted!"
You need to take it a little slower, libby.
You're like me, you ain't as young as you once was.... ;-)
Looks like many So Cal cities....
Yeah, but this is in an area where the population density is only a dozen or so residents per square mile - and as many as 1500 transients per day/night.
Most disturbing. I knew these areas when they were clean, and you didn’t risk dying from a hypodermic syringe while out hiking.
Last night, even the local socialist news featured this story - it’s gotten that bad. Cattle and wildlife are dying from eating the criminals’ plastic.
You caught that eh?
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