Posted on 06/16/2010 1:01:54 PM PDT by markomalley
In yet another solid argument for securing the southern border, American families planning to visit national parks this summer are being warned of the iminent danger created by Mexican drug and immigrant smugglers.
The violence is so severe that the federal government has posted strongly-worded signs at national parks near the border warning visitors of the risks. Many of the public lands are not located directly on the southern border but are used as pathways for traffickers—transporting drugs and illegal immigrants—en route to major metropolitan cities.
Most of the problem areas are located in southern Arizona and are annually visited by thousands of unsuspecting people. In an effort to protect the public, the U.S. Bureau of Land Management has posted warnings at various parks, including the Sonoran Desert National Monument, Cabeza Prieta National Wildlife Refuge, Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument and Coronado National Forest.
The situation has become so dire that authorities recently put up stronger warnings at several of the parks, according to a national news report. Nearly a dozen new signs have been erected at various locations in an effort to give the public a heads up on the increasingly dangerous situation. The new signs warn visitors about smuggling vehicles speeding, instruct them to walk away if they see something suspicious and avoid abandoned vehicles and backpacks because they may contain drugs stashed by smugglers.
The problem is especially critical at the Sonoran Desert National Monument, located about 80 miles south of Phoenix. The most biologically diverse of the North American deserts, the park spans nearly 500,000 acres and houses three congressionally designated wilderness areas as well as significant archeological and historic sites. It’s popular among families but also a favorite pathway for Mexican smugglers making their way into Phoenix.
A local law enforcement officer—a Pinal County sheriff deputy—was recently shot in the area during a confrontation with Mexican drug smugglers. In a separate incident just a few weeks apart, two suspected smugglers were also fatally shot in the area.
Violence is hardly the only problem infesting public parks and national monuments near the Mexican border. Every year tens of millions of pounds of trash and human waste are left behind by illegal immigrants who cross into the U.S. through federal and state parks and ruin this country’s most prized national forests, vegetation and wildlife. In one recent year American taxpayers dished out $63 million to clean up the deplorable mess in parts of Arizona and California.
http://www.fws.gov/southwest/refuges/arizona/buenosaires/PDFs/Closure.pdf
It’s just not warnings now, THEY HAVE CLOSED AREAS TO THE PUBLIC.
Looks like current maps of the the United States are now outdated.
The closure is just along the border. If one can carry just north of the red areas, the hunting should be fine.
Where in the HELL are the environmentalists?
[....crickets.....]
message from Pinal County Sheriff, re: violence deep into AZ.
you mean those areas should be Mexico now?
This is unbelievable. And the White House continues to mock.
The parks and forests in Oregon and California haven’t been formally closed...yet. We’ve been warned for years to stay out of them. Last summer, armed groups of ‘spanish speaking’ men were patrolling our country roads at night. The Mexican Cartels are fighting with each other over ‘territory’ to grow their weed.
Beyond disgusting. Some feds should be charged, tried and imprisoned for allowing this to persist. This sort of thing could be stopped if that was our government's intent. National Guard? With some sensible rules of engagement suitable for armed smugglers, the proper federal agencies augmented by the NG could put a stop to this lunacy.
I don’t mean those areas should be Mexico now, but that they ARE Mexico now. Without a fight we have ceded the land to them, haven’t we?
you stated it better than i. i agree. it’s almost as if we have already succeeded our land.
“In one recent year American taxpayers dished out $63 million to clean up the deplorable mess in parts of Arizona and California.”......
Couldn’t that $63 million been put to better use building the fence???.....RIDICULOUS!!!
Hunting vacations, anyone? S,S,S.
So this is why the libs didn’t want regular citizens to go armed in national parks.
No LEOs set any ambushes?
It is not “almost as if.” Our government HAS CEDED a part of U.S. territory to drug smugglers, and is warning Americans to stay out — of an area for which taxpayers provide the upkeep. How to put this? Our government is saying the drug smugglers are in charge there now. But our government forbids Americans to enter the area. Local, state and federal authorities have all given up and are just submitting to the drug traffickers. It is no longer US territory, in that the US no longer controls what goes on there. Much like parts of LA.
you are right. the sheriff of Pinal county has already said so. they (law enforcement) have NO CONTROL over these areas.
open borders crowd ignores this.
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