FORT UNION Administrative History

In protecting cultural resources, Fort Union had to keep illegal treasure hunters as well as campers away from its territory. After the close of the military post in 1891, the place became open territory to vandals and souvenirs seekers who took anything they wanted. Vandalism turned the remaining structures into ruins. When the ruins became a national monument in 1956, the Park Service prohibited artifact hunting on the government property. Few visitors wanted to challenge this rule. However, one or two treasure hunters tried to find valuable historic objects on the grounds and take them home. On July 2, 1987, a bold Texan used a metal detector and geologist's tools near the park entrance, looking for historic artifacts. Superintendent Douglas McChristian tolerated this for a few seconds. He stopped and questioned the Texan before he could find any item more valuable than rusty nails. Although such cases rarely occurred, illegal artifact hunting in the park never stopped entirely. [8]

Malicious vandals and shrewd thieves caused more trouble than this mindless Texan. On one hot summer afternoon in 1977, an unidentified visitor reported a hole in the heavy duty plexiglas exhibit cover at the commissary storehouse at the Third Fort to ranger Tom Danton. After a quick investigation and inventory, he found that a brass U.S. Army plaque and a blue culinary bottle were stolen. There was no evidence as to what had been used to break into the exhibit. Thus, the park authority remained clueless and the thief remained free. [9] Moreover, larceny occurred not only in a "remote" area but at the busy visitor center as well. On May 29, 1984, after counting the money in the safety box, ranger Carl Friery found forty dollars missing from the Southwest Parks and Monuments Association petty cash fund. Without any evidence, the park staff could not understand how the money disappeared from the safety box in the chief ranger's office. Since so many people, including employees and visiting researchers, had access to the office, it was impossible to identify a suspect. The case became another mystery. [10]

Most of the unlawful activities at Fort Union involved illegal entry into the monument. Curious visitors commonly drove into the residential area. Once, an unidentified person even broke a window of a ranger's house. [11] Whenever they ran into an uninvited guest, the rangers turned him or her away immediately. In several cases, angry visitors who arrived just after the park's business hours bumped their cars against the locked gates to break into the park. Discovering the damage to the gates the following morning, the park rangers were unable to make any arrests.

Even during regular business hours, some adventurous travelers either used unusual means to tour the monument or entered prohibited sections. On a few occasions, visitors drove along the service roads used for maintenance purposes, perhaps not knowing that the vibration of motor engines could further weaken the fragile ruins. In another case, two riders turned their motorcycles off the established road onto the grass and proceeded in the direction of the Star Fort. Just in time, park technician C. Susan Shampine, in her patrol vehicle spotted the motorcyclists and stopped them with red flashing lights. She gave them a verbal warning. [12] In most similar incidents, the park rangers prevented illegal actions before they caused severe damage.

Despite the fact that the law enforcement played only a minor role in Fort Union's daily operations because of the few illegal activities, the park administration sought to prepare for possible crises in the future. In 1973 after a crime-free season, chief ranger Arnberger initiated a program of visitor protection and law enforcement. To meet the Park Service's new standards, Fort Union procured the necessary equipment including handguns and CB radio gear. Armed with modern communication equipment and first-aid supplies, a patrol vehicle was ready for duty at all times. [13] The following September, Chief Ranger Hoff attended a two-week law enforcement training course at Marana, Arizona, and graduated as a qualified law enforcement officer. [14] Then, the regular training of employees in law enforcement became an instituted part of human resource management. As a result, Fort Union was able to deal with misdemeanors.

To battle felonies, Fort Union still needed outside help. Its small semi-professional police force, usually consisting of only the chief ranger, could not effectively counter any major crime such as a murder, riot, or armed robbery. In most cases, the monument did not have the authority to act on those types of "external threats," so any satisfactory resolution of serious criminal incidents had to rely on consultation and cooperation with other federal agencies, as well as with state and local governments.

In 1974, Superintendent Hopkins and chief ranger Arnberger met with the U.S. Attorney in Albuquerque and officials from the New Mexico State Police and Las Vegas Police Departments to discuss pre-planning for cooperative efforts for riot and disturbance control. [15] Several years in a row, park management worked closely with these agencies plus the Federal Bureau of Investigation on details. Fort Union finally reached an agreement with these agencies for cooperation in mutual areas of interest in law enforcement. [16] In 1984, the park made a similar agreement with the Mora County Sheriff's Department. [17] More cooperation meant less worry about the park's own ability to counteract major crimes.

One incident showed the effectiveness of cooperation. At four o'clock in the afternoon of July 21, 1987, Chief Ranger David Roberts saw a strange man walking around the visitor center singing to himself. Quickly checking the parking lot, Roberts found no cars. Following the man to the rear of the building, the ranger saw a Toyota pickup parked on the interpretive trail. A sense of duty pushed Roberts towards the vehicle. As he approached, the man appeared to be very nervous and tried to start his car hurriedly. Ignoring Roberts's knocking on the window, he raced his pickup along the trail to the mechanics corral, then across a field onto a service road to exit the park. Roberts called the State Police for assistance. The eight-mile entrance road was the only way out. Before the person could pass Wheeler Lake, policeman James Montoya had blocked the escape route. The trapped suspect had no choice but to surrender to the officer. After a preliminary investigation, the State Police found that he was suspected of car theft, and put him in Mora County Jail pending court action. [18]

In addition to the occasional vandal and criminal, developers also threatened the integrity of the monument. If the Union Land and Grazing Company decided to turn Fort Union Ranch into a ski resort or a petroleum field, Fort Union National Monument would lose its scenic setting and become "true ruins." As an island besieged by vast areas of private property, the park felt powerless in controlling its own destiny. In the seventies, the Southwest Regional Office began to express concerns about the future of Fort Union Ranch, and asked the park employees to keep an open line of communication with the landowner. Accordingly, Fort Union maintained close ties with the employees and officials of the company. The good neighbor policy of the Park Service enabled the fort personnel to detect any change in the use of the ranch lands. [19]

In the report that responded to the regional director's request, Superintendent Hopkins expressed doubt of any changing land status of Union Ranch in the near future, but several facts boosted his confidence. Both water and climate had limited the use of the land in the surrounding twenty-mile radius to dry farming, cattle ranching, and forest production. Also, no metropolitan center was near the monument. Las Vegas, thirty miles away, was a static, economically depressed town of 20,000 residents. It had little industry and its prospects appeared poor. Therefore, no immediate encroachment or industrial threat would occur near the borders of the park. [20]

Since the mineral resources in the Mora Valley were as poor as the economy of Las Vegas, the monument could escape the threat of industrial development. For a long time, outside entrepreneurs and landowners hoped to find "gold" on the Fort Union Ranch. In 1977, Andrew Marshall brought professional scientists to the ranch to search for precious metals and petroleum. From September through December, a survey team from Cities Service Oil Company sank two exploratory wells on the prairie, primarily seeking oil, natural gas, and carbon dioxide. The survey ended as none existed in the area. [21]

The siege of Fort Union by the vast private lands around it, under a single owner, could be protective to the park if the company continued to keep the area as a cattle ranch. Ninety-seven-thousand acres of grass and forest served as a buffer to separate the fort from the noisy world. Because of this natural defense, air and water pollution posed no problem. In 1979, Fort Union participated in the Park Service's survey of air quality, providing the Regional Office with perceptive opinions about its atmosphere. Although the fort staff could not determine how pure the air was in the region because of the lack of equipment, they believed the air at the fort was free of air pollution. Nine years later, the second survey produced the same results. Chief ranger John Batzer requested air monitoring equipment but the Park Service never purchased any. [22]