Having lived in Arizona I witnessed the destruction of the Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument. Organ Pipe was named "the most dangerous national park" in 2002 and again in 2003 by the U.S. Park Rangers Lodge of the Fraternal Order of Police but they no longer publicly rate it. The drastic increase of drug activity on Arizona's southern border since the 1990s has turned Organ Pipe park rangers into de factor Border Patrol agents. Since 2009, the park has offered van tours to the Quitobaquito Springs, as long as rangers armed with rifles go along to protect the visitors.
The severe restrictions imposed by the national monument designation actually destroyed the Arizona desert area rather than protecting it. It is now essentially off-limits to the public because it has become a corridor for illegal immigration and drug trafficking and the BLM cannot keep up with the constant trash left by them. It has become too dangerous to visit this National Monument unescorted. We do not want the same to occur here. If you are truly concerned about protecting our Organ Mountains I would encourage everyone to visit the Organ Pipe Cactus Monument to see its destruction.
Don’t be fooled by the VetVoiceFoundation ads that claim veterans support the monument proposal. It is not endorsed by legitimate veteran’s organizations. Environmentalists have been unsuccessful in getting Congress to pass local wilderness proposals and seeking a Presidential Executive Order is another desperate effort to circumvent the role of Congress and the will of the people to achieve their environmental agenda.
Veterans did not serve and protect this nation to allow control of its southern border to be turned over by default to drug smugglers and human traffickers. Protecting the environment is not about restricting access that adversely impacts public safety, flood control and water rights or prohibits most public use. It should be about encouraging maximum public enjoyment through appropriate forest, range and land management that ensures long-term viability. A National Monument severely restricts both government agencies and public access to over 600,000 acres or 25% of Dona Ana County and is the wrong way to protect it.
