Scott Thompson – “Historical-Period Ranching on the Barry M. Goldwater Range, Arizona”

The Barry M. Goldwater Range (BMGR), located in southwestern Arizona, is the nation’s second largest tactical aviation range and has functioned as one of the premier aviation training facilities for the U.S. Air Force (USAF) and the air arm of other military branches for more than 75 years. In 1854, the United States acquired the lands that now comprise the BMGR. Ranching quickly became the dominant non-Native American economic activity. Abandoned ranching sites dating to the late nineteenth and early-to-mid-twentieth centuries have been recorded in archaeological surveys of the BMGR. These sites, which are eligible for the National Register of Historic Places, typically have a variety of features associated with stock raising—wells, windmills, water tanks and troughs, fences, corrals, loading chutes, and tent and house foundations. Oral histories reveal the adaptation of an established ranching tradition to an arid, rugged, and remote environment. This presentation will share significant data on the history of ranching on the BMGR and discuss the ongoing efforts of the USAF to manage these resources.