Illegal alien invasion impacts wildlife, hunters

One of the things that we as sportsmen should look at is the impact on wildlife and outdoor recreation, including hunting, that is affected by the constant flow of illegal aliens into Arizona. I, for one, have quit even applying for any big-game tags down south, as I have no desire to deal with illegal aliens and human smugglers sneaking into the country. Then there are the drug smugglers. Those folks are well armed most of the time, and as we have seen recently, they have no qualms about shooting anyone including ranchers and law enforcement officers who try and interrupt their illicit business. This isn't a new problem. It's been going on for some time now and has caused some real problems for wildlife and sportsmen. Besides displacing wildlife from the historical places where they live, the illegals and drug smugglers also bring in tons and tons of trash, which they leave in the desert. Drop sites all over Arizona have produced thousands of pounds of discarded clothes, water bottles, backpacks, food and other items. It has gotten so bad that one group of Southern Arizona sportsmen do annual cleanups of the major drop sites. The Arizona Game and Fish Commission passed a rule that now allows archers to carry handguns on their archery hunts. Why? For protection against illegal aliens, drug and human smugglers mainly in Southern Arizona. Nothing like running into some bad guys when all you have is a sharp-pointed stick, right? We as citizens and sportsmen in Arizona ought to be outraged at what is going on in our state...more