Buenos Aires NWR recently benefited from 2 weeks of field work provided by the Southwest Conservation Corps.  The SCC is a non-profit, job training and educational organization that hires young adults to focus on conservation projects on public lands.  Ranging in age from 14 to 25, the participants learn about teamwork, work skills, environmental stewardship and personal responsibility.  In January and February, a work crew of 6 young adults and 2 crew leaders repaired barbed wire fence that had been damaged or cut by illegal immigrants.  Broken fence allows cattle to enter from Mexico, adding to the landscape damage caused by immigrants.  The crew made many repairs along 4.2 miles of fence. They also removed a large amount of barbed wire fence left over from ranching days.  This helps the movements of deer and pronghorns and eliminates an obstacle in which they can become fatally entangled.  The crew removed a total of 5600 feet of barbed wire and sheep fence, 9000 feet of smooth wire, 70 large coils of wire, and 275 metal fence posts.  Refuge volunteer Gary Tuell accompanied the group each day to steer them to worksites and also to help in supervision.