NO SAFE REFUGE: Illegal immigrants, drug trafficking and theft rings are making U.S. protected lands along the border with Mexico hazardous for both wildlife and people

摘要

"I'm a field commander who's been sent down here to deal with a war," says Roger Di Rosa, manger of the 860,000-acre Cabeza Prieta National Wildlife Refuge, which lies in southwestern Arizona and shares 56 miles of border with Mexico. The "war" involves thousands of illegal immigrants who yearly cross Cabeza Prieta, leaving a wake of destruction that affects endangered species as well as federally designated wilderness. To make matters worse, federal efforts to combat the illegal activities have themselves damaged fragile desert. "If the status quo continues, who knows what'll happen in the future," says Di Rosa. "We're failing in our mission to manage and protect the refuge and its wilderness quality."