The Border Patrol wants more of them to combat smugglers, but environmentalists say the move would further damage delicate habitat and endanger animals.

LUKE TURF

The battle over access to smugglers in southern Arizona parks and wildlife refuges has land managers caught between the Border Patrol and environmentalists.
The Department of Homeland Security is pushing for more Border Patrol access to smuggling routes as part of what promises to be the government's boldest attempt yet to seal the border.

Border Patrol officials are meeting with land managers to try to get more access to federally protected land along the border. But environmentalists say more access would perpetuate environmental destruction caused by smugglers.

"There is potential confrontation brewing," said Cabeza Prieta National Wildlife Refuge manager Roger DiRosa. "It's coming from the top down, and we're all scrambling. Quite honestly, those of us on the ground don't know where this is going right now."

The refuge has 56 miles of border with Mexico.

Though he has been working with the Border Patrol on its requests for greater access, DiRosa said he is not yet allowed to discuss it.

More than 100 miles of border in Arizona are federally protected to preserve the ecosystem and maintain habitat for endangered species, such as the Sonoran pronghorn, whose population of about 350 lives in three herds in Arizona and Mexico. Border Patrol agents already have authority to go into the areas during off-road pursuits.

But the Border Patrol wants more.

"I think that within a short period of time we're going to see some changes in the existing legislation," Border Patrol Chief Gus De La Viña said this week.

One of the most controversial changes would be to grant the agency regular motorized patrols on foot trails created by illegal immigrants and smugglers.

Environmentalists vow to fight the Border Patrol's move to get more access to the sensitive areas.

"We're going to oppose any efforts to circumvent these laws," said Jenny Neeley, Southwest associate for the national group Defenders of Wildlife.

Next door to Cabeza Prieta in Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument, a new vehicle barrier is being installed along the monument's 36 miles of Mexican border. The monument's acting superintendent, Lisa Eckert, hopes the barrier will help stop the spread of the 200 miles of illegal roads created by smugglers in Organ Pipe.

Environmentalists contend the Border Patrol's agenda is to supersede environmental regulations and sidestep mandatory regulations outlined in the National Environmental Policy Act, which requires environmental assessments for increased activity on public lands.

Neeley said granting motorized access to foot trails would lead to roads and eliminate the purpose of establishing a refuge. She said that also would invite smugglers to create even more roads.

The chief patrol agent of the Border Patrol's Tucson sector, David Aguilar, said agencies are trying to work within environmental laws to enhance the Border Patrol's effectiveness without disturbing the environment.

A memorandum of understanding has been reached with Buenos Aires National Wildlife Refuge near Sasabe, which shares about seven miles of border with Mexico.

The memorandum sprang from a letter from U.S. Sen. Jon Kyl, R.-Ariz., to the Department of the Interior, requesting a one-year pilot program to grant the Border Patrol more access and evaluate the impact.

Desert ecologist Daniel Patterson of the Tucson-based Center for Biological Diversity said the proposed changes are "excessive, over the top." He said the plan is another effort by the Bush administration to bypass environmental laws without input from local agencies.

He said the increased activity could wipe out the Sonoran pronghorn.

"There's really no negotiating when you're talking about the Department of Homeland Security," Patterson said.

At Coronado National Memorial, which shares 3.5 miles of Mexican border, Chief Ranger Thane Weigand said the Border Patrol wants to maintain a road running down to the border. The road is not maintained now, he said, and his rangers do fine with its existing condition.

"Generally when you maintain roads, the increased use tends to have an impact on the surrounding environment," he said.