USDA Forest Service a partner in border-monitoring Operation Trident Surge

Since January 18, USDA Forest Service Law Enforcement and Investigations officers are participating with the U.S. Border Patrol and the Department of Interior in Operation Trident Surge, a joint initiative to secure and protect the Arizona/Sonora corridor, and improve national security and counterterrorism efforts on federal lands along the U.S. borders.

In the Coronado National Forest and surrounding areas, special patrols are enhancing the mission of federal land use agencies in the Arizona/Sonora corridor. These efforts will bolster the mission of these agencies to protect public lands from environmental damage, establish safe and secure border communities while degrading and disrupting criminal organizations and their ability to operate within the United States.

Operation Trident Surge teams are comprised of Forest Service Law Enforcement Officers, Department of the Interior and other land management officers paired with Border Patrol agents. Together they conduct proactive enforcement patrols on federal lands within the operational area.

Through these combined patrols, law enforcement is seeking to deny transnational criminal organizations the use of U.S. public lands to further their illegal activities. The patrols are also designed to deter violations of cultural and environmental laws on federal public lands within Arizona.

Operation Trident Surge supports the National Border Patrol Strategy by apprehending and deterring smugglers of humans, drugs, and other contraband, and by increasing the probability of apprehending terrorists and their weapons seeking further entry into the United States.