I leased land on the Rio Grande for over 30 years from Bill Moody. He had a ranch that at one time ran all the way from South of Del Rio to Eagle Pass. For the last 60 years it ran from Del Rio to Quemado, over 20 miles of riverfront border. Mr. Moody had a very good relationship with the Border Patrol, and in fact had contracts with the gubment and BP for access, maintenance and patrol. It was just part of his ranching operations. This included vast acerage of agriculture as well as cattle ranching. YEARS ago this whole wall thing was negotiated with Mr. Moody and the outcome of that was to build a wall that did NOT cut off access for the areas where grazing was currently allowed. Gates/passages were to be provided... Mr. Moody has passed now and his estate sold the ranch, but I'd think those agreements probably transcended ownership change.
This is totally a non-issue as ALL cattle/livestock on the US side of the river has NO access to the river directly. There are a series of quarantine fences that keep livestock on our side of the river from coming in contact with Mesican livestock. USDA personnel patrol the border for Mesican cattle/livestock and other animals (exotics) that may cross the river.
Again there is currently NO direct access to the river by livestock/cattle. But as stated above, provisions had been made for the Moody ranches to maintain access to the agricultural land.
As a matter of fact and interest, the Maverick Dam that is the "weir" built across the Rio Grande to control the water level for irrigation of the whole RGV is on the Moody Ranch about 15 miles below the Amistad dam. There is a canal system that has its source right there that runs all through the RGV for irrigation for farmers all over the Valley. There is vast agricultural activity on the ranch next to the river and was reasoning used in the agricultural access to the land and river in the event a barrier for keeping people out was built.
Many years ago, the bold statement was true, but it is NO LONGER TRUE... for at least large stretches of the river. According to our TPWD wildlife biologist we used for our management program south of Del Rio, he told us that the water coming out of Amistad and for the first several miles below that dam and running through the city of Del Rio and Acuna was some of the purest water in the world.
I have personally swam, duck hunted, fished and enjoyed all manner of river activities in that stretch of the river. ... best dang duck lease I ever had!! THOUSANDS of ducks in the river!! I caught MANY, MANY trophy Smallmouth Bass, Largemouth Bass, Striped Bass, and Flathead catfish out of that stretch of river.
Just as Artos posted, the ranchers who "lawyered up" did so to protect their rights and to negotiate a decent deal for their property... such as the deal Mr. Moody and Moody Ranches, Inc. negotiated many years ago. I promise you they don't oppose the wall; they just want to make sure it is done right and fair.
I know Mr. Moody lost thousands and thousands of dollars in property, goods and damages from illegal crossings. Heck, the movie set of Lonesome Dove was built on a small stretch of the river, and the Mesicans have stolen just about everything from the set to take back across the river for building materials! In 2008 or 09, he had several miles of brand new 5 string barbed wire fence stolen and taken across the river!! Illegals stole the whole fence, wire, posts, even the rolls of old fence that had been taken up to build the new fence... everything was just GONE!! His airplane was stolen from ranch headquarters and flown to Mexico City. He was fortunate enough to get it back, but it had been gutted to be used as a drug plane...
True statement and spot on.
Originally posted by doghouse
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Originally posted by batmaninja
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As a matter of fact and interest, the Maverick Dam that is the "weir" built across the Rio Grande to control the water level for irrigation of the whole RGV is on the Moody Ranch about 15 miles below the Amistad dam. There is a canal system that has its source right there that runs all through the RGV for irrigation for farmers all over the Valley. There is vast agricultural activity on the ranch next to the river and was reasoning used in the agricultural access to the land and river in the event a barrier for keeping people out was built.
Originally posted by ttaxidermy
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I have personally swam, duck hunted, fished and enjoyed all manner of river activities in that stretch of the river. ... best dang duck lease I ever had!! THOUSANDS of ducks in the river!! I caught MANY, MANY trophy Smallmouth Bass, Largemouth Bass, Striped Bass, and Flathead catfish out of that stretch of river.
Originally posted by Landrover
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I know Mr. Moody lost thousands and thousands of dollars in property, goods and damages from illegal crossings. Heck, the movie set of Lonesome Dove was built on a small stretch of the river, and the Mesicans have stolen just about everything from the set to take back across the river for building materials! In 2008 or 09, he had several miles of brand new 5 string barbed wire fence stolen and taken across the river!! Illegals stole the whole fence, wire, posts, even the rolls of old fence that had been taken up to build the new fence... everything was just GONE!! His airplane was stolen from ranch headquarters and flown to Mexico City. He was fortunate enough to get it back, but it had been gutted to be used as a drug plane...
Originally posted by Landrover
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