Endangered antelope interferes with Arizona border security

is opposing the construction of the communications tower at Cabeza Prieta. Nickas would not say whether the group would file suit over the issue.

A spokesman for Fish and Wildlife said construction on the tower has begun and it was permitted by the refuge. He also said that Fish and Wildlife was open to discussing alternatives to the tower locations originally proposed by CBP. The project was put on the hold, though, before the issue could be worked out.

According to Fish and Wildlife, wild Sonoran Pronghorn numbers are down to about 80 in Arizona and they occupy less than 10 percent of their original range.

Berger notes that the other side of the argument is that illegal immigrants are doing massive harm to the environment and taxing government resources — and that more Border Patrol and towers could actually do some environmental good.

“(Illegal immigrants) do more harm than Border Patrol would,” said Representative Rob Bishop (R-Utah). “Somehow we need to come up with what is indeed a priority and what is not a priority.”

A 2007 memo from Fish and Wildlife detailed the extensive damage illegal immigration was causing to border wildlife refuges, including Cabeza Prieta. On the Buenos Aires refuge, the memo said 500 tons of trash is left behind by illegal immigrants every year, based on “conservative estimates.” The memo said that in Cabeza Prieta, “large numbers” of drug smugglers were crossing the refuge and that vehicles and trash were being left behind. The memo said that resource officers, who are hired for “resource protection,” were spending “100 percent” of their time dealing with border-related issues.

The GOP committee aide said drug and human smugglers make heavy use of Cabeza Prieta and that federal officials last year found seven relay units on the property — used by cartels to communicate with one another (“Mexican cartels operate permanent lookout bases in Arizona to monitor U.S. law enforcement,” 25 June 2010 HSNW). Cabeza Prieta is one of several border parks and refuges where signs have been posted warning visitors about the dangers of illegal immigrant-related activity.

The thing that amazes me is that the environmentalists, including some of the governmental stewards, seem to lose track of the big picture,” said T. J. Bonner, president of the National Border Patrol Council, the union for Border Patrol agents. “It doesn’t do these species any good to allow literally thousands of people to go tramping through those areas on a continual basis.”