The Boarder | Don McDowell Outdoors

THE ARIZONA BORDER

On Dec 16, 17, 2021 Don McDowell made his 5th trip to the border specifically along the I8 Corridor and at Yuma, AZ borders on the Colorado River and Mexico. Our purpose was to document the illegal border crossings at County 9 and County 13 breeches in the Trump wall as well as interviews with ranchers and farmers on the burden of these crossings. We also interviewed a school teacher at Sentinel and investigated the conservation efforts for these ranchers and farmers. Because of the Biden Administration, the Trump wall came to a halt and the borders were opened to illegal’s in numbers of 150k to 175k per month. The crossings at Yuma are not the same as in Texas.

BORDER INVESTIGATIONS WITH JOHN LADD

On February 24, 2020, Don McDowell made his 4th trip to the Arizona Mexican Border to further determine the effects of immigration on private property by spending time with ranch owner John Ladd to get the history of his ranch and his involvement with illegal immigrants, the border patrol and the Game & Fish Department. The following videos are broken into 5 parts describing Ranch History, The Beginning of the Wall, Impact of UDA’s, Encounters with Illegal’s and Ranch Conservation. According to ranch owner John Ladd, border crossings have significantly dropped because of the Trump Administration.

WORKING WITH THE BORDER PATROL

In 2017, Don McDowell, Doug Stricker and Cat Thor represented not just the hunters and outdoors men of Arizona, but the general public in Arizona as well along with the many visitors of Organ Pipe Cactus National Park and Cabeza Prieta Wildlife Refuge, both visited by millions of Americans each year and although we think we know the reality of this area and presume the border is a stronghold, it is not as you would think. For up close and personal, to touch the fence itself and witness the life of a Border Patrol agent is definitely a reality check if visiting from outside Arizona. Between the Border Patrol and the National Park Service agents, visitation has increased over the years and generally, they rarely have encounters with immigrants.