Strip of refuge closed by border battles

Buenos Aires seeks to keep hikers from being caught in crossfire of 'criminal activity'

CLAUDINE LoMONACO

First came the illegal immigrants. Then came the U.S. Border Patrol to chase them. Then came the National Guard to back up the Border Patrol agents who were chasing the illegal immigrants.

All of it has proved too much.

Administrators of Buenos Aires National Wildlife Refuge have decided they need to close the heavily trafficked southern strip of the refuge to protect the public.

"You've got well-armed bad guys and well-armed good guys, and we don't want the public down there in the middle of all that," said refuge manager Mitch Ellis.

The closure will affect around 3,500 acres of semidesert grass land of rolling hills and mesquite trees that border Mexico. It is the first closure in the park's history due to illegal immigration, Ellis said.

Illegal traffic in southern Arizona has decreased for the first time since 2000 and Ellis attributed the decline to the U.S. Border Patrol and National Guard troops.

He praised their efforts, but he said he no longer felt safe letting the public in the heavily patrolled area.