The Nation's Most Dangerous Park

Arizona's Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument is the most dangerous in the nation.

1 minute read

January 14, 2003, 2:00 PM PST

By Abhijeet Chavan @http://twitter.com/legalaidtech


"The park rangers at Arizona's Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument wear camouflage, carry assault rifles, and chase drug smugglers through the blazing desert. They're at the front lines of a violent border war—and they're losing...Across the nation, park rangers are assaulted more often than any other federal law enforcement officers...In the park's rugged backcountry, migrants and smugglers have cut hundreds of new trails, trampled plants, and strewn water jugs and other garbage through the once-pristine desert. They have disrupted the habitat of the park's population of endangered Sonoran pronghorn antelope, a shy and reclusive species already gravely stressed by a drought."

Thanks to Abhijeet Chavan

Monday, January 13, 2003 in National Geographic

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