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In this October 30, 2014 photo, Sam and Linda Pearsall of Raleigh, N.C. visit the Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument in Arizona. For over a decade, armed drug traffickers were so prevalent in this vast desert monument that visitors were barred from entering more than half of it. But a series of crackdowns and decreased traffic on Arizona’s border with Mexico have turned things around at the national monument. For the first time since 2003, the picturesque park is fully accessible, all 516 square miles of its sweeping mountains and cactus-covered terrain. (AP Photo/Astrid Galvan)
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In this October 30, 2014 photo, is the Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument in Arizona. For over a decade, armed drug traffickers were so prevalent in this vast desert monument that visitors were barred from entering more than half of it. But a series of crackdowns and decreased traffic on Arizona’s border with Mexico have turned things around at the national monument. For the first time since 2003, the picturesque park is fully accessible, all 516 square miles of its sweeping mountains and cactus-covered terrain. (AP Photo/Astrid Galvan)
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In this October 30, 2014 photo, Sam and Linda Pearsall of Raleigh, N.C. walk through the Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument in Arizona. For over a decade, armed drug traffickers were so prevalent in this vast desert monument that visitors were barred from entering more than half of it. But a series of crackdowns and decreased traffic on Arizona’s border with Mexico have turned things around at the national monument. For the first time since 2003, the picturesque park is fully accessible, all 516 square miles of its sweeping mountains and cactus-covered terrain. (AP Photo/Astrid Galvan)
ORGAN PIPE CACTUS NATIONAL MONUMENT, Ariz. (AP) — For over a decade, armed drug traffickers were so prevalent in this vast desert monument that visitors were barred from entering more than half of it.
One law enforcement group dubbed it America’s most dangerous park for two years straight after drug smugglers gunned down a ranger.
But a series of crackdowns and decreased traffic on Arizona’s border with Mexico have turned things around at Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument. For the first time since 2003, visitors can access all 516 square miles of the park named for a unique cactus breed that resembles a pipe organ with its long, narrow arms and short trunk.
The picturesque monument epitomizes the challenge of protecting visitors and government workers from the dangers of smuggling in southern Arizona, where large swaths of the border with Mexico are public land. Along the border and very near to it are four wildlife refuges, three national parks, two state parks and two wildlife conservation areas.
The 2003 closure of nearly 70 percent of Organ Pipe marked the first time in recent history that a national monument was largely closed because of threats posed by humans. It followed several incidents involving drug and human smugglers, including the 2002 death of Kris Eggle, a 28-year-old law enforcement park ranger killed while pursuing a group of smugglers.
For those brave enough to want to hike through the park’s closed areas, rangers armed with long rifles provided security on guided tours.
A drive down Arizona State Route 85 past the old mining town of Ajo leads to Organ Pipe and its organ pipe cacti and countless saguaros. In the summer, the heat is unforgiving, but during the rest of the year, the striking desert landscape attracts visitors from across the country. Climbers also have taken an interest in the mountain ranges and cliffs that surround the park.
“This is one of the great ecosystems in the United States, and we wanted to see it,” said Sam Pearsall of Raleigh, North Carolina.
Pearsall and his wife, Linda, hiked the 1 ½-mile Desert View Trail this fall. Organ Pipe was one of about 40 national and state parks the couple visited during a months-long tour.
“To me it’s an indicator of the state of the border, if you will, when we can open these parks and people feel safe in these areas,” Border Patrol Tucson Sector Chief Manny Padilla said. “It’s a big indicator as to the state of the border security.”
No crime figures are available just for Organ Pipe, but the Tucson sector — which comprises nearly all the Arizona border with Mexico, including the park — has seen a significant drop in activity in recent years.
The sector made 120,939 arrests in fiscal year 2013. In fiscal year 2014, which ended Sept. 30, that figure was roughly 88,000.
The number of pounds of marijuana seized in the Tucson sector also fell from 1.2 million in fiscal year 2013 to 971,180 in fiscal year 2014. The Border Patrol breaks down sector drug seizures only by pot and cocaine, although cocaine figures are extremely low.
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