Michael Webster
Many U.S. Parks, Monuments, Wildlife Refuges & Public Lands are too dangerous for U.S. public to use
By Michael Webster
In effect our Government has seceded millions of acres of our federal lands to the Mexican Drug Cartels who have also taken control of many counties in Texas, New Mexico and at least three Arizona counties, endangering American lives and is encroaching on our national sovereignty.
The United States no longer controls many of our Wilderness Areas, National Parks, Monuments, Wildlife Refuges, Gunnery Ranges, Military Reservations, State Lands and provides little or no security to private land owners along our southern border. Because according to U.S. law enforcement drug cartels now control these areas.
U.S. Government agencies and their PR spokespersons have been very critical of news articles, TV and radio news casts similar to this article. They say out of one side of their mouths that stories like this one and others are ludicrous and are not actuate and that it is safe on the federal land they manage, yet from the other side of their mouths they say that it is dangerous or they caution citizens to be extremely careful while on these U.S. lands.
Some federal agencies who manage these lands have even erected warning signs pointing out the many dangers that they will likely face should they as Americans enter those areas.
According to a U.S. Government official who is not authorized to address this issue told the U.S. Border Fire Report that many of the government bureaucrats are concerned if the public stops using the lands they manage that they fear of losing their government jobs.
So even though they must put out some warnings to the public which states some of the dangers they quickly follow it up with statements of how safe it is to recreate on these lands.
Here are the facts:
Many of these lands are not protected by our government's law enforcement agencies or military. Many claim that our Border Patrol and other federal, state and counties are under manned and under financed. Therefore, according to at least one Arizona sheriff drug cartels now control much of these lands.
According to the Pinal County Sheriff "large areas in Southern Arizona are very dangerous to U.S. citizens.
"We do not have control of this area"
http://www.borderlandbeat.com/2010/06/pinal-county-sheriff-mexican-drug.html
Pinal County investigators say an area known as the smuggling corridor now stretches from Mexico's border to metro Phoenix.
The area once used by American families by camping, hiking, off roading and for general recreation is now being denied by the armed and dangerous smugglers that use the areas for criminal activities and therefore deny the use by our residents.
Night vision and other type cameras have photographed Mexican Drug Cartels and others with military arms and heavy back packs full of drugs moving through these now well known drug corridors and areas where smugglers deliver these drugs to vehicles along Highway 8 and other places more than 80 miles north of the U.S. Mexican Border. Click on or Google: Mexican Drug Cartels putting Americans in danger on American soil
An operative known to us as "Duck Hunter" has told the U.S. Border Fire Report that "no one is working this area, Not ICE, DEA, ATF, Customs and Border Protection, FBI, Pinal County sheriff, or BLM. That tells me that the cronies in Washington does not give a shit about the publics safety [sec]. This is going on 80 miles north of the border. Their actions are telling me that is fine [sec] that the Mexican Drug Cartels has full control of our desert.
Where is Congress and DHS in this new Mexican-American war that we seem to be losing?"
As a consequence many citizens are fearful to take their families too many of these areas because of the lack of law enforcement. When one park ranger was ask if he would bring his family out here to camp in one of the areas in question he flatly said, no way.
According to a supervisor with the U.S. Border Patrol he indicated that land designations have a significant impact on the ability of the Border Patrol to effectively control crime, due to the numerous restrictions imposed, such as no use of motorized vehicles and no mechanized equipment on certain designated federal wilderness lands. Our wilderness, national wildlife refuges, monuments and other federal lands along the Arizona border are becoming havens for criminal activity due to drug and human smuggling cartels that now "own" these areas. They understand the severe restrictions on Border Patrol and law enforcement, and it makes these areas very "criminal friendly." See Border Wilderness is just too dangerous for the public use. Click on or Google: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wY6sPP7m8rA
Exactly how many thousands of acres of federal land are closed or should be closed due to safety concerns for American citizens near the border are not immediately available. We have many calls into U.S. Government agencies to ask just that question, none have returned our calls to date.
A PR employee for the Buenos Aires National Wildlife Refuge located in Southern Arizona called the U.S. Border Fire Report offices to complain about an article by this reporter.
Click on or Google: The U.S. Gov: giving parts of Arizona back to Mexico
We attempted to contact Mr.Jose Viramontes, and return his call to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, both at his office and his mobile phone Friday with no returned call to me to date. I assumed he lift his job early to take advantage of a possible three day weekend that seems to be prevalent among many government personal.
The federal government closed a portion of a US park in Arizona four years ago due to violence perpetuated by illegal aliens and smugglers along the US/Mexico border. Roughly 3,500 acres of the Buenos Aires National Wildlife Refuge — about 3 percent of the 118,000-acre park — have been closed since Oct. 6, 2006, when U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service officials acknowledged a marked increase in violence along a tract of land that extends north from the border for roughly three-quarters of a mile. Federal officials say they have no plans to reopen the area.
Click on or Google: closure notice [PDF, on the park's website.
This is not from my news report, this is a direct notification of the closure of this area by the Buenos Aires National Wildlife Refuge, and it warns Americans about the closer due to the violence. Click on or Google: link to the park's website click on the closure notice banner in the lower right side of the page.
The Buenos Aires National Wildlife Refuge admits that they have been adversely affected by border-related activities. They say that their international border with Mexico has also become increasingly violent. Assaults on law enforcement officers and violence against migrants have escalated. Violence on the Refuge associated with smugglers and border bandits has been well documented. Many of these activities are concentrated at, or near, the border. The concentration of illegal activity, surveillance and law enforcement interdictions make these zones dangerous. According to the Refuge that statement was put on their web site in 2006.
Since than they now claim things have gotten better. The facts are things on the U.S. Border with Mexico have gotten worse.
According to their web site that closure is in effect until further notice. My question would be if things have gotten better, why are they still maintaining the closure!
"This is one of those things that the Department of Interior does not want to publicize," said Rep. Rob Bishop, R-Utah, ranking Republican on the House Parks and Public Lands Subcommittee. "These bad actors are now being channeled into federal lands along the border because it's so easy to make that access. The situation is getting worse on federal lands and will only get worse until we make some proactive activity to change the status quo."
"Frankly," Bishop continued, "the status quo is failing. We are failing to control our borders."
Bishop, who has introduced legislation that would remove environmental restrictions the Department of Interior imposes on U.S. Border Patrol agents, questioned the message sent by federal authorities by closing off part of the Buenos Aires Refuge.
"That is a ludicrous message," he said. "That policy is unacceptable. That strikes of running a policy of appeasement to drug cartels instead of fighting back. Someone has to say that not one inch of American property will be given to the bad guys and not one death is acceptable." Bishop also said that the policy of "ceding" federal land to drug and human trafficking is unacceptable.
There are at least two designated national monuments that continue to post travel warnings or be outright closed to Americans who own the land because of the dangers of "human and drug trafficking" along the Mexican border.
Due to our proximity to the International Boundary with Mexico, some areas near the border are closed for construction and visitor safety concerns," the website reads.
Dennis Godfrey, a spokesman for the Bureau of Land Management's Arizona office, said roughly a dozen signs were posted earlier this year along the Sonoran Desert National Monument advising that travel in the area is not recommended due to "active drug and human" smuggling. The signs are not far from where a Pinal County deputy was shot and wounded during a confrontation with marijuana smugglers in April and the fatal shooting of two other men in the same area who were first believed to be Americans, but later reported by authorities to be suspected Mexican drug smugglers.
"It is a corridor for smugglers of all types," Godfrey told the media.
Similar signs have been posted at the Cabeza Prieta National Wildlife Refuge and the Coronado National Forest, which covers nearly 1.8 million acres in southeastern Arizona and southwestern New Mexico.
Their web site points out that the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) public lands in southern Arizona continue to experience illegal activities, including drug and human smuggling. Visitors to public lands are encouraged to be aware of their surroundings while in southern Arizona. In the past, encounters with drug smugglers have typically been non-violent in nature; however, recent BLM law enforcement reports indicate smugglers may be armed and have displayed aggressive behavior toward people working or recreating on public lands in southern Arizona.
Bureau of Land Management public lands lie adjacent to 44 miles of the international border with Mexico. Visitors should be aware that narcotic smuggling activities occur within this national monument. If you see any activity that looks illegal, suspicious, or out of place, please do not intervene. Note your location and call 911, or report the activity to a law enforcement range as quickly as possible.
Be Aware, Be Safe
Cell phone service is often out of range in many remote areas of the monument.
Know where you are at all times, follow good safety procedures and use common sense when making decisions.
Do not pick up or approach hitch hikers.
Keep valuables, including spare change, out of sight and lock your vehicle.
Avoid traveling outside of well-marked roads and routes.
People in distress may ask for food, water or other assistance. Do not make contact. Report the location of the distressed people to the nearest BLM or other law enforcement authority.
Report ANY suspicious behavior to the nearest BLM office or contact Law Enforcement Dispatch at (623) 580-5515 as soon as possible.
Visitors to BLM public lands in southern Arizona, including the Sonoran Desert and Ironwood Forest national monuments, need to be aware of these activities.
The BLM is alerting the public to be aware of their surroundings when visiting public lands in southern Arizona, and to follow the safety tips above. Your safety is important. If you see anything that looks illegal, suspicious or out of place, do not intervene. Note your location and call 911, or report it to the BLM Law Enforcement Dispatch at (623) 580-5515, as quickly as possible.
The BLM manages more land — 256 million acres — than any other Federal agency. This land, known as the National System of Public Lands, is primarily located in 12 Western States, including Alaska. The Bureau, with a budget of about $1 billion, also administers 700 million acres of sub-surface mineral estate throughout the nation. The BLM's multiple-use mission is to sustain the health and productivity of the public lands for the use and enjoyment of present and future generations. The Bureau accomplishes this by managing such activities as outdoor recreation, livestock grazing, mineral development, and energy production, and by conserving natural, historical, cultural, and other resources on public lands.
According to Col: Ronald Adler, commandant for the United States Civil Defense Assoc. (USCD) of Arizona says " If some of these government agencies continue to encourage Americans to come and visit their parks, monuments, national forests, and other lands on or within a 100 miles of the U.S. Mexican border and this administration does not come through with U.S. army troops on our border with Mexico unsuspecting Americans may meet a violent death or violently maimed by armed smugglers and/or terrorist who are illegally infiltrating American sovereign lands."
Judicial Watch reports that the violence is so severe and 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.
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 U.S. metropolitan cities.
Many of the problem areas along our border with Mexico are located in Southern Arizona and are annually visited by thousands of unsuspecting American citizens. The problem is especially critical at the Sonoran Desert National Monument, located not far from Phoenix, of which much of it lies south of I-8 between Gila Bend and Casa Grande Arizona. This is the most biologically diverse of the North American deserts and thousands of Americans visits them yearly. 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 criminal smugglers making their way into Phoenix and other parts of our nation.
Googl: Giving Part of US to Mexico?
Video Source: www.truveo.com
Related articles by Michael Webster
Google: Mexican Drug Cartel's Cash is King!
Unbelievable conditions in the Arizona desert.
Two more Americans found dead in the Arizona desert.
Mexican Drug Cartels putting Americans in danger on American soil.
Attention Concerned Citizens.
Related Blogs & videos
* (video) Outmatched, out gunned, large part of Arizona closed to ...
• Free Frank Warner: Trouble in Arizona: 3500 acres controlled by ...
• We just lost good hunting land — Arizona Hunting Today Forum
• People outside Arizona may not really understand what's happening ...
• AYFKM? Obama Closes Parts Of Arizona Instead of Repeling The ...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wY6sPP7m8rA
© Michael Webster
June 20, 2010
In effect our Government has seceded millions of acres of our federal lands to the Mexican Drug Cartels who have also taken control of many counties in Texas, New Mexico and at least three Arizona counties, endangering American lives and is encroaching on our national sovereignty.
The United States no longer controls many of our Wilderness Areas, National Parks, Monuments, Wildlife Refuges, Gunnery Ranges, Military Reservations, State Lands and provides little or no security to private land owners along our southern border. Because according to U.S. law enforcement drug cartels now control these areas.
U.S. Government agencies and their PR spokespersons have been very critical of news articles, TV and radio news casts similar to this article. They say out of one side of their mouths that stories like this one and others are ludicrous and are not actuate and that it is safe on the federal land they manage, yet from the other side of their mouths they say that it is dangerous or they caution citizens to be extremely careful while on these U.S. lands.
Some federal agencies who manage these lands have even erected warning signs pointing out the many dangers that they will likely face should they as Americans enter those areas.
According to a U.S. Government official who is not authorized to address this issue told the U.S. Border Fire Report that many of the government bureaucrats are concerned if the public stops using the lands they manage that they fear of losing their government jobs.
So even though they must put out some warnings to the public which states some of the dangers they quickly follow it up with statements of how safe it is to recreate on these lands.
Here are the facts:
Many of these lands are not protected by our government's law enforcement agencies or military. Many claim that our Border Patrol and other federal, state and counties are under manned and under financed. Therefore, according to at least one Arizona sheriff drug cartels now control much of these lands.
According to the Pinal County Sheriff "large areas in Southern Arizona are very dangerous to U.S. citizens.
"We do not have control of this area"
http://www.borderlandbeat.com/2010/06/pinal-county-sheriff-mexican-drug.html
Pinal County investigators say an area known as the smuggling corridor now stretches from Mexico's border to metro Phoenix.
The area once used by American families by camping, hiking, off roading and for general recreation is now being denied by the armed and dangerous smugglers that use the areas for criminal activities and therefore deny the use by our residents.
Night vision and other type cameras have photographed Mexican Drug Cartels and others with military arms and heavy back packs full of drugs moving through these now well known drug corridors and areas where smugglers deliver these drugs to vehicles along Highway 8 and other places more than 80 miles north of the U.S. Mexican Border. Click on or Google: Mexican Drug Cartels putting Americans in danger on American soil
An operative known to us as "Duck Hunter" has told the U.S. Border Fire Report that "no one is working this area, Not ICE, DEA, ATF, Customs and Border Protection, FBI, Pinal County sheriff, or BLM. That tells me that the cronies in Washington does not give a shit about the publics safety [sec]. This is going on 80 miles north of the border. Their actions are telling me that is fine [sec] that the Mexican Drug Cartels has full control of our desert.
Where is Congress and DHS in this new Mexican-American war that we seem to be losing?"
As a consequence many citizens are fearful to take their families too many of these areas because of the lack of law enforcement. When one park ranger was ask if he would bring his family out here to camp in one of the areas in question he flatly said, no way.
According to a supervisor with the U.S. Border Patrol he indicated that land designations have a significant impact on the ability of the Border Patrol to effectively control crime, due to the numerous restrictions imposed, such as no use of motorized vehicles and no mechanized equipment on certain designated federal wilderness lands. Our wilderness, national wildlife refuges, monuments and other federal lands along the Arizona border are becoming havens for criminal activity due to drug and human smuggling cartels that now "own" these areas. They understand the severe restrictions on Border Patrol and law enforcement, and it makes these areas very "criminal friendly." See Border Wilderness is just too dangerous for the public use. Click on or Google: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wY6sPP7m8rA
Exactly how many thousands of acres of federal land are closed or should be closed due to safety concerns for American citizens near the border are not immediately available. We have many calls into U.S. Government agencies to ask just that question, none have returned our calls to date.
A PR employee for the Buenos Aires National Wildlife Refuge located in Southern Arizona called the U.S. Border Fire Report offices to complain about an article by this reporter.
Click on or Google: The U.S. Gov: giving parts of Arizona back to Mexico
We attempted to contact Mr.Jose Viramontes, and return his call to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, both at his office and his mobile phone Friday with no returned call to me to date. I assumed he lift his job early to take advantage of a possible three day weekend that seems to be prevalent among many government personal.
The federal government closed a portion of a US park in Arizona four years ago due to violence perpetuated by illegal aliens and smugglers along the US/Mexico border. Roughly 3,500 acres of the Buenos Aires National Wildlife Refuge — about 3 percent of the 118,000-acre park — have been closed since Oct. 6, 2006, when U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service officials acknowledged a marked increase in violence along a tract of land that extends north from the border for roughly three-quarters of a mile. Federal officials say they have no plans to reopen the area.
Click on or Google: closure notice [PDF, on the park's website.
This is not from my news report, this is a direct notification of the closure of this area by the Buenos Aires National Wildlife Refuge, and it warns Americans about the closer due to the violence. Click on or Google: link to the park's website click on the closure notice banner in the lower right side of the page.
The Buenos Aires National Wildlife Refuge admits that they have been adversely affected by border-related activities. They say that their international border with Mexico has also become increasingly violent. Assaults on law enforcement officers and violence against migrants have escalated. Violence on the Refuge associated with smugglers and border bandits has been well documented. Many of these activities are concentrated at, or near, the border. The concentration of illegal activity, surveillance and law enforcement interdictions make these zones dangerous. According to the Refuge that statement was put on their web site in 2006.
Since than they now claim things have gotten better. The facts are things on the U.S. Border with Mexico have gotten worse.
According to their web site that closure is in effect until further notice. My question would be if things have gotten better, why are they still maintaining the closure!
"This is one of those things that the Department of Interior does not want to publicize," said Rep. Rob Bishop, R-Utah, ranking Republican on the House Parks and Public Lands Subcommittee. "These bad actors are now being channeled into federal lands along the border because it's so easy to make that access. The situation is getting worse on federal lands and will only get worse until we make some proactive activity to change the status quo."
"Frankly," Bishop continued, "the status quo is failing. We are failing to control our borders."
Bishop, who has introduced legislation that would remove environmental restrictions the Department of Interior imposes on U.S. Border Patrol agents, questioned the message sent by federal authorities by closing off part of the Buenos Aires Refuge.
"That is a ludicrous message," he said. "That policy is unacceptable. That strikes of running a policy of appeasement to drug cartels instead of fighting back. Someone has to say that not one inch of American property will be given to the bad guys and not one death is acceptable." Bishop also said that the policy of "ceding" federal land to drug and human trafficking is unacceptable.
There are at least two designated national monuments that continue to post travel warnings or be outright closed to Americans who own the land because of the dangers of "human and drug trafficking" along the Mexican border.
Due to our proximity to the International Boundary with Mexico, some areas near the border are closed for construction and visitor safety concerns," the website reads.
Dennis Godfrey, a spokesman for the Bureau of Land Management's Arizona office, said roughly a dozen signs were posted earlier this year along the Sonoran Desert National Monument advising that travel in the area is not recommended due to "active drug and human" smuggling. The signs are not far from where a Pinal County deputy was shot and wounded during a confrontation with marijuana smugglers in April and the fatal shooting of two other men in the same area who were first believed to be Americans, but later reported by authorities to be suspected Mexican drug smugglers.
"It is a corridor for smugglers of all types," Godfrey told the media.
Similar signs have been posted at the Cabeza Prieta National Wildlife Refuge and the Coronado National Forest, which covers nearly 1.8 million acres in southeastern Arizona and southwestern New Mexico.
Their web site points out that the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) public lands in southern Arizona continue to experience illegal activities, including drug and human smuggling. Visitors to public lands are encouraged to be aware of their surroundings while in southern Arizona. In the past, encounters with drug smugglers have typically been non-violent in nature; however, recent BLM law enforcement reports indicate smugglers may be armed and have displayed aggressive behavior toward people working or recreating on public lands in southern Arizona.
Bureau of Land Management public lands lie adjacent to 44 miles of the international border with Mexico. Visitors should be aware that narcotic smuggling activities occur within this national monument. If you see any activity that looks illegal, suspicious, or out of place, please do not intervene. Note your location and call 911, or report the activity to a law enforcement range as quickly as possible.
Be Aware, Be Safe
Cell phone service is often out of range in many remote areas of the monument.
Know where you are at all times, follow good safety procedures and use common sense when making decisions.
Do not pick up or approach hitch hikers.
Keep valuables, including spare change, out of sight and lock your vehicle.
Avoid traveling outside of well-marked roads and routes.
People in distress may ask for food, water or other assistance. Do not make contact. Report the location of the distressed people to the nearest BLM or other law enforcement authority.
Report ANY suspicious behavior to the nearest BLM office or contact Law Enforcement Dispatch at (623) 580-5515 as soon as possible.
Visitors to BLM public lands in southern Arizona, including the Sonoran Desert and Ironwood Forest national monuments, need to be aware of these activities.
The BLM is alerting the public to be aware of their surroundings when visiting public lands in southern Arizona, and to follow the safety tips above. Your safety is important. If you see anything that looks illegal, suspicious or out of place, do not intervene. Note your location and call 911, or report it to the BLM Law Enforcement Dispatch at (623) 580-5515, as quickly as possible.
The BLM manages more land — 256 million acres — than any other Federal agency. This land, known as the National System of Public Lands, is primarily located in 12 Western States, including Alaska. The Bureau, with a budget of about $1 billion, also administers 700 million acres of sub-surface mineral estate throughout the nation. The BLM's multiple-use mission is to sustain the health and productivity of the public lands for the use and enjoyment of present and future generations. The Bureau accomplishes this by managing such activities as outdoor recreation, livestock grazing, mineral development, and energy production, and by conserving natural, historical, cultural, and other resources on public lands.
According to Col: Ronald Adler, commandant for the United States Civil Defense Assoc. (USCD) of Arizona says " If some of these government agencies continue to encourage Americans to come and visit their parks, monuments, national forests, and other lands on or within a 100 miles of the U.S. Mexican border and this administration does not come through with U.S. army troops on our border with Mexico unsuspecting Americans may meet a violent death or violently maimed by armed smugglers and/or terrorist who are illegally infiltrating American sovereign lands."
Judicial Watch reports that the violence is so severe and 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.
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 U.S. metropolitan cities.
Many of the problem areas along our border with Mexico are located in Southern Arizona and are annually visited by thousands of unsuspecting American citizens. The problem is especially critical at the Sonoran Desert National Monument, located not far from Phoenix, of which much of it lies south of I-8 between Gila Bend and Casa Grande Arizona. This is the most biologically diverse of the North American deserts and thousands of Americans visits them yearly. 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 criminal smugglers making their way into Phoenix and other parts of our nation.
Googl: Giving Part of US to Mexico?
Video Source: www.truveo.com
Related articles by Michael Webster
Google: Mexican Drug Cartel's Cash is King!
Unbelievable conditions in the Arizona desert.
Two more Americans found dead in the Arizona desert.
Mexican Drug Cartels putting Americans in danger on American soil.
Attention Concerned Citizens.
Related Blogs & videos
* (video) Outmatched, out gunned, large part of Arizona closed to ...
• Free Frank Warner: Trouble in Arizona: 3500 acres controlled by ...
• We just lost good hunting land — Arizona Hunting Today Forum
• People outside Arizona may not really understand what's happening ...
• AYFKM? Obama Closes Parts Of Arizona Instead of Repeling The ...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wY6sPP7m8rA
© Michael Webster
The views expressed by RenewAmerica columnists are their own and do not necessarily reflect the position of RenewAmerica or its affiliates.
(See RenewAmerica's publishing standards.)
