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Desert Researchers Face Border Dangers
TUCSON - Researchers studying the wildlife of the Sonoran Desert are increasingly becoming targets of smugglers and desperate border crossers, leading to more safety precautions for the scientists.Researchers are drawn to the long-protected desert wildlife, but they face growing fears as assaults on Border Patrol agents become more common and they find themselves the victims of crime, including stolen cars and trailers. One University of Arizona student was robbed at gunpoint. Recreational users of public lands are allowed to visit without restriction and are responsible for their own safety, but scientists visit under special permits from land managers. The researchers face more danger, too, because they often work in isolated areas at night. To combat the risk, researchers in most parks along the border must be accompanied by park personnel or agree to a buddy system. They must check in with park officials daily and must clear out of dangerous areas if necessary. At Organ Pipe National Monument, researchers must have armed law enforcement officers in some places closest to the border. Scientists say they are spending more time on paperwork, applying for multiple grants so they can hire more workers to avoid working alone. The result: less focus on protected species... Staff biologists at Buenos Aires National Wildlife Refuge are now told to wear nondescript T-shirts rather than uniforms when they are doing field research so they don't get mistaken for law enforcement and become a target, said manager Mitch Ellis. He asks visiting researchers to check in with law enforcement and advises them to let their vehicles go if border crossers try to steal them. Violent crime along the border seems to be increasing. In the Border Patrol's Tucson Sector, which covers most of Arizona, 216 assaults against officers have been documented since October. That's up from 118 in all the previous year. Some of the increase is the result of more officers, but the numbers are still worrisome, said Border Patrol spokesman Jose Garza. "The assaults are also going up in severity," he said. "In the outskirts, they're using the vehicles to try to ram our agents, shooting our agents in an attempt to avoid arrest." And the "yes, but" ending: Still, some researchers say they've had few problems with border crossers. James Cain, a UA doctoral student who studies desert bighorn sheep, said he has met crossers just three times in four years. He's never had any problems. Posted by: Pappy 2005-08-09 |
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