A real-life Arizona-version of "Yellowstone" is playing out in a rural part of Maricopa County.
Residents of Wittmann say their way of life is being threatened by a massive new rail hub that would overwhelm their equestrian community with massive amounts of traffic and pollution and also attract crime and divert critical resources, such as water.
They’re fighting back with their own reality TV show.
"The Lost Cowboys" is a docu-drama that takes place in the unincorporated community of Wittmann, population 600, almost exactly one person for every acre.
The show features residents like Laura Deaver, whose young family came here to have enough land for their horses, a view of the mountains and some peace and quiet.
The Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway however, had other designs for the area along Grand Avenue in the far northwest Valley.
“We are told that this was the plan and that if we don’t like it, then pretty much, tough luck,” Deaver says in the first episode.
That plan involves building the largest rail hub in the nation, a nearly 7-square mile footprint that would nearly envelop the smaller community.
“We haven’t even touched on the wildlife issues,” Deaver said. “The water issues. Waste contamination. I mean, we’re sitting right next to a wash that floods.”
The series also introduces us to rancher Kirby Anderson, who is also concerned that the new rail hub will kill Wittmann's rural lifestyle.
“Not just the appearance of it, but then it’s all the trucks and traffic that will be going around the facility, 24/7 to take off of rail cars. So that’s not what this area was set up for. We have livestock and colts and animals and it’s a breeding facility, right? And then you think about the pollution from the rail system and all the traffic going around it.”
Anderson and other concerned residents are featured in the documentary, designed to bring attention to their fight against the giant BNSF project.
Filmmaker Reece O’Connor took on the project. The Phoenix native, a graduate of Arizona State University's film school, found the narrative on his first visit to Wittmann.
“I mean it’s the classic David versus Goliath story. Can a big business with the means and the capital do whatever they want? I think that story has never been more important to tell than right now in this country.”
BNSF, owned by the multinational conglomerate Berkshire Hathaway, first bought a small portion of the land — about 720 acres–back in 2004.
It purchased the other 3,500 acres from the state land trust in 2022.
It’s up to Maricopa County to decide if it can be re-zoned to accommodate the massive rail yard.
Scott Isham is chief of staff for Maricopa County District 4 Supervisor Debbie Lesko, who represents the area.
“We’ve been very honest with BNSF that they need to go out and meet with residents of that area,” Isham said. “It’s a very large district. We go from Avondale all the way past Wickenberg and to Aguila, so Surprise has grown, Buckeye — we’re in the growing part of the county in District 4, so yes this is a way of life that is rapidly going away.”
Isham says they’re actively working with both sides to address concerns.
“You know, a railroad is a railroad. You can’t get around that. So I think that’s what we’re grappling with. Try to make it compatible, if you can. And so that’s up to the neighbors and BNSF to build buffers, berms, trees–but you know, train whistles are train whistles.”
BNSF spokesman Lena Kent says they’re also engaged in the community and hearing them out.
“We’ve spent the last several months listening to those concerns and trying to find ways to mitigate that. I think that until they experience it, it may be difficult in the interim as we work to try to show them that we can be a good neighbor and we can mitigate a lot of their concerns," said Kent.
Kent says the hub won’t be in residents’ backyards, but at least a half-mile away from their properties — and believes it will pay off for them in the long run.
“We work really well with the communities in which we’re in. And a lot of those communities see the benefits of the facilities once they’re built in terms of job creation and taxes that are then going into the local economy to help improve schools and roads,” Kent said.
But rancher Kirby Anderson says they didn’t ask for it and they don’t want it.
“If they get it approved, you can’t stop it. So we need to stop it today and control it, control the narrative today because worrying about, ‘Ah, it’s not coming-that’s a problem for the next generation’ is the wrong approach.”
Lesko’s office was granted a motion to delay the board’s hearing on the issue until at least August as they figure out a compromise.
You can find episodes of “The Lost Cowboys” streaming on YouTube.
