Fort Union Administrative History

Figure 15. 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. This photograph shows the entrance gate that was broken the night of March 17, 1970. Courtesy of Fort Union National Monument.

While quietly enduring the subversive impact of nature, the weather-beaten ruins at Fort Union National Monument faced unnatural threats to their existence and integrity. It is true that sometimes human wrongdoing, either malicious or negligent, are more evasive and destructive than natural forces. Without exception, both people and the civilization they created often posed "external threats" to disturb the peaceful park. In the first 36 years of its history, the monument achieved a good safety record with only minimal damage caused by people due to geographical isolation, limited territory, and low visitation. But Fort Union never appeared as a safe haven for those to seek an escape from the dangerous world. Various undesired human activities, such as theft, vandalism, encroachment, pollution, careless fire, commercial development, and low-flying aircraft generated enough concerns for the Park Service. These problems and responses become another chapter in the story of resource management.

The concept of outside human threats to the existence of Fort Union surfaced rather slowly; it took no less than 25 years to reach its maturity. During the first decade after the establishment of the monument, the enthusiastic park administration paid little attention to such issues. The staff concentrated on ruins preservation and interpretation. More importantly, the location of the fort induced people to minimize their worry about human malice toward the ruins. Surrounded by a 97,000-acre cattle ranch, in single ownership, Fort Union was separated from civilization because no large population center existed nearby. The isolation was bad news for visitation but an advantage for protection. The dead-end eight-mile entrance road appeared less inviting for the visitor to come and more difficult for the criminal to escape. According to the park records, serious incidents involving human mistakes rarely occurred during the 1950s and 1960s. Therefore, the Park Service believed that Fort Union was immune to the outside world.

Beginning in the mid-1960s, this belief began to erode as the conservation movement in the nation took a holistic approach to preservation. Changing perceptions of American society contributed to more aggressive vigilance on the part of the Park Service. The new concerns stretched beyond the borders of park areas. By the 1970s, the National Parks and Conservation Association (NPCA) and other environmental groups that supported the park system had expressed concerns for the lands surrounding park areas. In 1976, Director Gary E. Everhardt declared that the most severe threats the system faced were external. [1] The issue immediately became prominent on the agenda of the agency. A Park Service study conducted in 1980 identified over two thousand outside activities affecting various units of the national park system. Suddenly, many people felt that the national parks had been "islands under siege." [2]

The combination of the new perception of threats and the growing pressure upon resources demanded attention from the staff at Fort Union. In accordance with the Park Service's policy to identify and counteract the broadening range of potential threats, fort management stepped up responses to once neglected outside threats. Within its ability, the park began to keep good records on incident cases. Also, the superintendent's annual reports focused more attention on the subject. It was unknown whether a growing notion of outside threats and an increasing number of incidents were coincident or not. Perhaps increased visitation was the cause. In any case, available documents enable us to examine the issue of management concern about outside threats.

As a part of President Lyndon B. Johnson's Great Society, the War on Waste had reinforced the Park Service's determination that the safety of both employees and visitors was crucial. In 1964 when the MISSION 66 program was entering its final stage, the Park Service launched a new campaign, MISSION 70, which aimed at accident reduction. According to program, each unit in the Park Service system would apply safety measures to prevent human-caused accidents and fires. Starting in the same years, the six regions and 221 units of the national park system participated in a five-year contest for the lowest record of accident and fire loss. Each year the winners would receive certificates. In 1965, after the first season, Fort Union won an award for excellent safety performance in which no disabling injury, motor vehicle accident, and structural fire occurred at the site. After the good start, for the next four years, the monument achieved a perfect record under the MISSION SAFETY 70 program. [3]

Throughout the history of Fort Union National Monument, the safety record of visitors was nearly perfect. No person ever died or was fatally injured in the park. Besides the previous mentioned snakebite incident, only one visitor required emergency care. In the morning on June 24, 1977, a female visitor appeared at the visitor center, calling for help. A few minutes before her husband had collapsed in front of the quartermaster's quarters. Ranger Robert Hoff rushed to the scene to assist the patient and then drove him to Las Vegas Hospital. The patient soon recovered from the illness caused by a combination of high blood pressure, high altitude, and irregular potassium levels. The quick and proper response to the emergency call avoided any serious consequences. [4]

Although no fatal injury or death occurred in the park, the administration prepared for any possible emergency situation. In 1973, Chief Ranger Robert Arnberger initiated a program to bring public safety operations up to Park Service standards. His actions included purchase of first-aid equipment, improvement of the record-keeping system, and training of qualified personnel. [5] In 1974, training received top priority. The slow spring season allowed all park employees and their family members plus neighboring ranchers, a total of 22 persons, to attend an American Red Cross multimedia standard firs-aid course. In addition, Superintendent Hopkins, Chief Ranger Arnberger, and Park Technician Ella Rayburn completed a 52-hour emergency medical technician course, sponsored by the American Red Cross and the New Mexico State Police, in Las Vegas. Thereafter, the park kept trained personnel at the fort to cope with emergencies. [6]

In 1979, students from New Mexico Highlands University broke the monument's perfect fire-control record of almost a quarter-century by kindling two grass fires among the ruins. In the afternoon of March 13, eight art students accidently threw lit material into the grass while they were painting. The fire broke out at 3:30 p.m. A visitor from Las Vegas, William Johnson, reported it to Ann Belen at the visitor center. She gave him a CO₂ fire extinguisher to take to the site. Three other park employees rushed to the fire scene with the 300-gallon pumper and equipment. They found that two grass sections were burning; one was east of the northernmost company barracks and the other was east of the prison. Fortunately, the wind was calm at the time, and the flames did not spread out of control. With the assistance of eight visitors, the park staff extinguished the fires in a few minutes. Since each student told a different story about what happened, Ranger Hoff was unable to identify the person who ignited the fire, and the students were released from the investigation. But the park staff did not cease their vigilance. On the contrary, they realized that human mistakes and outside threats could be devastating to the park resources. [7]

As with the students who almost caused a fire disaster, other negligent visitors and their careless behavior put different pressure on resource management. As a small historic site, Fort Union provided visitors with no lodging or campgrounds except a few picnic tables for day use only. The beautiful valley in which the fort was located often tempted travelers to stay overnight. Sometimes, they illegally pitched tents near the residential area outside the monument. Several unauthorized camping cases occurred each year. The campers made the park authorities nervous because their campfires or gas stoves could start a grass fire if the wind suddenly gusted. The park enforced the non-camping rule without compromise. As soon as the unwelcome travelers were discovered, the park rangers evicted them by issuing a verbal warning. This house-cleaning policy went on effectively.

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]

Figure 16. On October 7, 1984, a man from Dalhart, Texas illegally landed a single-engine plane near the hospital ruins. Courtesy of Fort Union National Monument.

Few external human threats to Fort Union appeared as destructive and annoying as low-flying aircraft. Their frequent visits and sonic booms disturbed the visitors as well as the ruins, which developed a few more cracks every time an airplane passed the valley at low altitude. For the dedication ceremony of Fort Union National Monument in 1959, the Park Service invited the New Mexico National Guard to fly its "Top Guns" over the site as the signal for hoisting the American flag. Four F-100 Super Sabre jets zoomed over the monument while three thousand attenders applauded. But nobody realized that aircraft was to pose a major threat to the historic structures in the future.

On November 29, 1963, the first visit Fort Union by airplane occurred. The three-man camera crew of the Columbia Broadcasting System landed their helicopter near the parking lot without advance notice. They were cruising over the region in search of material for a television program, "The Changing Face of America," to be presented on January 12, 1964. No sooner did they emerge from the helicopter than Superintendent Homer Hastings advised them that low-flying and landing on monument land violated the Park Service regulations. Apologizing, the crew members explained that the Santa Fe Trail and Fort Union as seen from the sky were well suited to their purposes. Also, they were low on fuel and concerned about the weight of the film equipment. Accepting this reasonable explanation, Hastings let them finish their job of shooting film. Afterward, park personnel hauled their luggage to the Las Vegas Airport by car so that the helicopter could leave safely. [23]

The Park Service began to realize the destructive impact of low-flying aircraft, particularly military jet on training missions over the ruins. Lightly populated, northern New Mexico served as an ideal area for the United States Air Force pilots to practice low-flying. Their sonic booms led the park staff to speculate on their effects on the historic structures. In 1971, the fort employees' assumptions proved correct that low-flying aircraft damaged the historic buildings. As Superintendent Claude Fernandez reported, "a tremendous sonic boom caused an existing crack on the ruins wall to widen." [24]

Sometimes airplanes even crashed near Fort Union, which, of course, made the Park Service nervous. Any direct hit by a crashing plane could destroy most of the park and turn the ruins into ashes. Just as darkness fell on April 14, 1967, a fire ball noted in the southeastern sky disappeared over the horizon and left a glowing bright light. Soon, the park staff learned that a USAF SR-71 Black Bird, the Air Force's fastest airplane, had crashed between Las Vegas and Fort Union and the crew had parachuted to safety. [25] Although it missed the monument, the fort personnel became convinced that they had to defend their skies too. According to the records, military aircraft caused less trouble for the park in recent decades.

After the military jets reduced their activities in the area, civilian aircraft filled the vacant sky. Their altitude was lower and their moves more capricious. According to the Federal Aviation Administration regulations, planes must maintain an altitude of 500 feet or more above people, structures, and vehicles. But reckless pilots often passed the fort below this safety altitude, trying for a bird's eye view of the old military post. On November 2, 1975, a Californian flew his twin-engine plane just above the ruins. He made two passes at an altitude of only 130 feet. The flight was so low that the park staff could read the plane's number. Five weeks later, another pilot made four passes over the ruins and residential area at an approximate altitude of 200 feet. The Park Service promptly contacted the FAA and provided the agency with the information. [26] The Californian pilot did not escape justice. As soon as the National Park Service filed complaint statements with the FAA, the government tracked him to Orange County, California. In February 1977, after a year of investigation and preparation, the trial began. Superintendent Hopkins and Ranger Paul Shampine testified as government witnesses during the trial. In the end, an administration law judge for the National Transportation and Safety Board found the pilot guilty on two counts of violating the federal regulation code and ordered the suspension of the pilot's license for sixty days. [27] This was Fort Union's first successful case in air defense.

Nevertheless, the Park Service was not so lucky in tracking every pilot who buzzed Fort Union. In the eighties, the number of incidents increased but there were few cases that resulted in court convictions. Facing tougher challenges, the Park Service tried its best to deal with the problem. In 1985, the Park Service and the FAA signed an interagency agreement on joint efforts to prevent low-flying aircraft over national park territories. Two years later, Congress passed a law, the Aircraft Overflight Act, which made low-flying illegal. Under orders from the Southwest Regional Office, Fort Union documented all aircraft overflight problems. [28]

More dangerous than overflights was the landing of planes in the park. Over the years several cases involved aircraft landings inside the monument. They threatened not only the historic buildings but the visitors and employees. Any human error or mechanical malfunction could result in a fatal accident. In addition, an aircraft at high speed and low altitude had little room to maneuver. Once a pilot called the park and asked for permission to land his plane in the park. After the park authorities refused his request, the angry pilot buzzed the ruins.

Some bold and risky flyers landed their planes in the park regardless of the law. At 11:35 a.m. May 6, 1976, a single-engine Cessna 180, with two Santa Fe men on board, approached the monument. They made four circles; each time descending to a lower altitude, only fifty feet on the third run. On the fourth run the plane landed inside the park and parked one hundred feet southwest of the hospital. Quickly arriving at the scene, Superintendent Hopkins and Chief Ranger Hoff issued a citation for operation of an aircraft in a NPS area to the unannounced visitors. Then, the park authority informed the FAA Albuquerque Bureau about the incident. Before the two men visited the ruins, they were forced into the air and out of the monument. [29]

Another illegal aircraft landing occurred more quietly and elusively. Walking to the visitor center in the afternoon of October 7, 1984, off-duty ranger Charles Spearman noticed an airplane parked near the hospital ruins. Upon entering the visitor center, he asked on-duty park technician Carrie Vernon about the plane. Caught by surprise, she recalled that a couple who was touring the park mentioned they had flown in a few minutes ago. It did not occur to her that they had arrived by plane. Ranger Spearman called chief ranger George West at Capulin Mountain National Monument, the only commissioned law enforcement officer in the area. Following instructions, Spearman took several pictures of the plane and brought the pilot to the office. Then he phoned the FAA office in Las Vegas to report the incident. The pilot from Dalhart, Texas, claimed that he thought the plane had landed on land belonging to the Fort Union Land and Grazing Company. While Spearman was on the phone again, the pilot ran back to his plane and took off before he could be further questioned. [30]

After the passage of the Aircraft Overflight Act in 1987, the problem of low-flying and unauthorized landing at the fort eased dramatically. In the last four years, only one helicopter from a television station landed in the park. While enjoying a temporarily peaceful period, the park employees remain vigilant for any threat from above, realizing that external threats are three-dimensional. Fort Union, as well as the Park Service, today continues to hope and work toward eliminating dangers from aircraft.

In comparison with other units in the national park system, Fort Union National Monument seemed to be a safer place. After 36 years in operation, no major disaster caused by human activities or mistakes had occurred. Although the monument constantly faced external threats, their intensity or degree in destruction appeared relatively low. For many years, the park achieved a perfect safety record. The credit for limiting the impact of human threats belonged to Fort Union's geographical isolation, low visitation, and responsible operation.