(Note: The Bureau of Land Management -- the BLM -- is an agency of the Department of Interior, which has had its budget DOUBLED. The author of this article cannot seem to decide which side to waffle on: 'urban sprawl' or 'passing the buck' at the BLM. So, he does both. Ranchers are just left hanging out to dry, and that's apparently the way that such journalistic mindsets would have it. This is domestic terrorism, folks. It has arrived -- it was here long before 9/11, and Babbitt and Company helped in its arrival. There is no mention in this 'news' article that Cindy Coping -- cpcoping@aol.com -- was made an 'instant inholder' by the Ironwood National Monument designation.)

December 18, 2002

By Bud Foster

KOLD-TV

Tuscon, Arizona

http://www.kold.com

Between illegal immigrants and a new national monument, some Tucson area ranchers say "they" are becoming an endangered species.

They're angry at the government, specifically the Bureau of Land Management.

The ranchers say that they'll disappear without help, but the BLM says that "help" is in short supply.

The ranchers say they are getting pounded from all sides and there's no end in sight.

The number of illegal immigrants crossing their property and doing damage, has skyrocketed in the past two years.

But also, the new, Ironwood National Monument is drawing more tourists, hunters, and people with no respect for the land.

With more people comes a monumental problem.

"I fear for my life. I'm not going to confront the people crossing my ranch," says owner Jesus Arvizu.

His sense of frustration was open and evident as Arvizu and a dozen other ranchers gathered in Marana to vent to the Bureau.

One rancher who did not want to be identified said, "I need to spend $20,000 for a new truck because my wife had a head on collision on the monument. The people took off and it was days before anyone came to check it out. Three people have been taken to the hospital because of the dangerous road. I went out to cut weeds to make it safer, but I have to get government permission to do that."

The BLM says it sympathizes with the ranchers, but solutions are in short supply. Tony Herrell of the BLM says, "Do we have a problem in the area? Yes. Are we adequately taking care of it? No. We're just not able to get the job done the way it should be done."

Nearly 190,000 acres just north of Marana was designated as a national monument by former Arizona governor and Interior Department Secretary Bruce Babbitt two years ago.

It's some of the most beautiful desert around.

But according to rancher Cindy Coping, that's when a couple of problems turned into several problems.

"We've got the immigration problem -- which is getting worse -- we've got ATV's tearing through the desert and we've got all the shooting. A lot of people are shooting in the monument right at our homes. In fact, all the signs around my house are shot up," she says.

The signs tell gun owners not to shoot within 50 yards of a home or across a roadway, but they do it anyway.

The monument is littered with cans which have been shot up, beer bottles and television sets shot up and broken, spent cartridges litter the landscape and saguaros show the damage of being shot numerous times.

But without money and manpower, the BLM is powerless to stop it. Herrell says.

"These are humongous problems. It's going to be very tough to fix it. There's nobody who can fix it, just like that."

Meanwhile, the patience of the ranchers is wearing thin.

They've complained many times in the past but it falls on deaf ears, making some of them believe they're being driven off the property deliberately.

Ranch owner Allen Gillespie says, "It's like they're kicking us out. They're doing everything they can with their policies to make it harder on us to stay out there. I knew this was coming when the monument [designation] came into play in 2000. It's getting worse and I don't see it getting any better."

Government officials say the ranchers are being threatened in a number of ways, but most of all because of urbanization.

Red Rock and Marana are growing rapidly.

The ranches were in the middle of nowhere a few years ago, but now civilization is encroaching, and it won't stop.

The BLM says it's not ready for visitors in the monument yet, but they're already coming.

The Ironwood National Monument is on the map, just off Interstate 10.

So it's pretty convenient. The BLM says it's still three years away from a visitors center and access control, which might help with the problems.

But the ranchers are not sure they can handle more and more stress for that long.

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