Obstacles from illegal foot traffic abound
Hunting the territory along the Texas/Mexico border can be some of the most challenging and rewarding hunting in the state. Hunters from Texas and nationwide recognize the border region as home to some of the best white-tailed deer hunting in Texas and elsewhere.
But hunting on the border is not without its own unique set of obstacles. Chief among them is the seemingly unending stream of human traffic. People crossing the border illegally have caused a plethora of problems for hunters and landowners alike over the years.
Now, with foot traffic at an all-time high, those issues are more prevalent than ever.
Damaged gates and fences, trash scattered, corn feeders stripped of their batteries, and people hiking through during the middle of a hunt are just a few of the challenges borderland hunters face. More recently, break-ins to ranch houses and threats to those living there, some of them with young children, have occurred in increasing numbers.
Ranch owners and hunters have experienced interruptions and damage for years, but say the problems have multiplied exponentially in recent years. Now, many landowners and hunters often are reluctant to share their experiences, fearing retribution.
On one of the ranches outside of Eagle Pass a hunter expressed his frustrations saying, “It’s super irritating to be in the stand seeing that buck that you have been chasing, only to have it ruined by a group of illegals walking through your hunt.”
The hunter added he had been physically confronted on the ranch.
This particular ranch has a long stretch of completed sections of border wall running through it, with more sections in the works. But even that daunting structure, a metaphorical and physical sign implying “keep out,” hasn’t slowed traffic.
Another Eagle Pass-area hunter experienced a similar predicament to border-area hunters over the years. When walking up to the blind in the early morning, obviously expecting it to be empty, he instead found several persons using the blind as a shelter.
In the area surrounding Del Rio, hunters and ranch owners face similar frustrations.
Mitchell Murphy, long-time guide on Sycamore Creek Ranch, said, “the worst is when you are hiking through your land and come to a small creek or water hole covered in trash and human waste.”
The disrespect for the land and property does not stop at litter, according to Murphy.
“There are wrappers and plastic bottles floating in the water,” he said. “There are small piles of TP and excrement all around. Discarded backpacks are found by the hundreds, and clothing, shoes, and food packaging waste represents a never-ending cleanup job for our ranch hands and guides.”
Of all the ways that illegal foot traffic has impacted landowners, destruction to fencing, gates and other property is some of the costliest damage. Daily inspection of fencing is required, a difficult task on a large ranch, with many exceeding 10,000 acres and having miles of fencing, whether of the high or low variety. Landowners bear all of the cost for the damage, and fencing is expensive, as many Texas hunters know.
Although a fence can be mended, holes cut in a fence are sometimes not found for days or weeks. This can result in catastrophic losses for game ranches when animals escape.
But the impact on a hunting operation’s ability to provide a desirable experience to customers, and ultimately provide opportunities to harvest animals, that is difficult to measure.
