Open Range on the Sonoran Desert National Monument
Anachronistic Policy Meets Western Speedway

I discovered two dead cows on state Highway 238 within 100 feet of each other in the Sonoran Desert National Monument in central Arizona on April 10, 2006.

The two roadkilled cows were located about 15 miles east of Gila Bend, Arizona. Cars raced by at 50-70 mph while I took the photograph of "dead cow 1-1"; "dead cow 1-4" is another photograph of the same cow. While I was taking the photographs I heard the bawling of a calf ("calf") that I assume was orphaned when dead cow #1 was killed. The calf appeared malnourished and lingered near cover about 40 yards from the dead cow, although there were other livestock nearby. "cow pie" is a nasty image of a poor use of the national monument.

The second roadkilled cow was less than 100 yards away, on the other side of the road, on the same straight stretch of highway ("dead cow 2-1" and "dead cow 2-3"). There were no fences on either side of the highway. What struck me about the second automobile-struck cow is that it was right next to a roadside "memorial" for a killed driver. Obviously this is a dangerous stretch of highway, made more dangerous by open range. "memorial-dead cow" shows the proximity of dead cow #2 to the memorial.

Mark Salvo