A pilot program in Cochise County is helping ranchers report dangerous activity in remote areas.
The Howard G. Buffett Foundation donated $35,000 to purchase 40 Motorola hand-held radios and signs ranchers can place on their property indicating they are part of the Ranchers Network and Patrol Partnership, the Cochise County Sheriffβs Office said.
So far, 31 ranchers have been given radios with predefined frequencies to contact each other or the sheriffβs office.
βThe specific purpose of the program is to allow ranchers working in the most remote areas of Cochise County to be an extension of our eyes and ears and to be able to immediately and directly report any suspicious or unusual activity in their respective areas, most of which do not have cell service,β the Sheriffβs Office said in a news release.
The radios also will βcut out the middle manβ during emergencies, said sheriffβs spokeswoman Carol Capas. Rather than have the sheriffβs dispatch center relay information, ranchers will be able to speak directly with helicopter pilots and direct them to the site of suspicious activity.
John Ladd, whose family ranch sits along 10 miles of the international border, said the radios will come in handy when heβs out in remote parts of his property.
Ladd said the illegal immigration landscape has changed in the past decade. He used to see hundreds of illegal border crossers on his land daily, but that number is down to nearly zero now. Instead, itβs the drug smugglers and their lookouts who travel through his ranch. His house has been burglarized repeatedly, he says.
βIf you live in the rural area, thatβs your big concern every day. You still have to realize that I canβt just walk into my house any more. I gotta look around and see whatβs going on,β Ladd said.
Peggy Davis, a rancher about 25 miles north of the border, says activity has also significantly decreased but that itβs not uncommon for smugglers and others to cross through her familyβs cattle ranch near Tombstone.
βSometimes we donβt have cell service on areas of the ranch. I was just thrilled that we have other options,β Davis said.
The radios are the first phase of the program. In July or August, another 71 radios will be given to public schools to be used in the event of an intruder, shooting, or other emergencies, Capas said.
The program was spurred in part by the 2010 fatal shooting of rancher Robert Krentz, the Sheriffβs Office said. His slaying remains unsolved.
βWe anticipate that this program, being one of a kind, will only strengthen the bond of trust between all law enforcement and our ranching community, and we hope to alleviate any other tragic incidents such as the Krentz homicide,β Cochise Sheriff Mark Dannels said in the news release.
The foundation that donated the funds is run by the son of billionaire investor Warren Buffett and regularly helps out the sheriffβs office, Capas said.
The foundation did not respond to a request for comment. The foundationβs website says it supports public safety in the rural communities where it operates, including Cochise County, three counties in Illinois, and areas in Nebraska.
