A proposal by the Trump administration to build a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border would adversely impact Big Bend National Park, according to the Greater Big Bend Coalition/Rebecca Latson
If the Trump administration moves ahead with plans to build a border wall along the U.S.-Mexico border, it would "completely ruin the experience" at Big Bend National Park in Texas, according to a former ranger.
The national park's boundary runs 118 miles along the border with Mexico. Building a wall along that stretch likely would jeopardize wildlife crossings and require a buffer cleared along the U.S. side of the wall to allow for maintenance and observation.
“It would completely ruin the experience of one of the most beautiful natural places left in this country,” Rick LoBello, a former Big Bend park ranger and director of conservation group the Greater Big Bend Coalition, told the Los Angeles Times last week in discussing the impact a border wall would have on the park.
In a similar story for the Dallas Morning News, Mr. Lobello said, “A big wall in Big Bend would basically destroy the wilderness quality Big Bend has protected.”
Of course, another impact of such a wall would be the likely demise, for now, of the proposal to create Big Bend Rio Bravo Binational Natural Area in the Big Bend area of Texas and northern Mexico being promoted by the coalition.
Support Essential Coverage of Essential Places
Comments
Yeah, I kinda wonder how they would maneuver that big ole wall around the Santa Elena Canyon. Would the canyon and trail be totally walled off? That would be a shame.
I believe the boundary between the park and Mexico is the middle of the Rio Grande/Rio Bravo. It might be difficult to float Santa Elena Canyon with that fence in the middle of the river.
Abandoning the Rio Bravo Binational area would deprive Americans of access to the Sierra del Carmen, arguably the most spectacular mountains in the region. And as justinh points out, the great float trips would no longer be practical, which is one of the main draws of the Park.
The Congressional Budget Office estimates "maintenance costs will exceed the initial construction costs within seven years". Don't miss John Oliver lampooning Trump's absurd idea:
http://www.esquire.com/news-politics/videos/a43191/john-oliver-donald-tr...
But . . . but . . . but without the Wall how will we ever Make America Great Again?
The wall is necessary to prepare us for the Next Great Leap Forward: American deveopment of large scale mining operations on the Moon.
http://newatlas.com/who-owns-moon-trump-lunar-economy/47897/?utm_source=...
Just think of how Great that will make America. And the best part is, Canada is going to pay for it! (I wonder if Trudeau knows that yet?)
I can't even imagine a wall going thru Big Bend National Park. Not to mention the sheer logistics of building said wall. An insane idea form an isane man.
The wall won't happen. It's a big empty promise, that trumpty dumpty used to get both sides riled up into hysterics. When all is said and done, we will probably have closer ties to Mexico than we do now when the next administration comes about, because of these hysterics. It's evident if Trump wants to remain president, he needs to try a new approach other than divide, and try to conquer, because that is obviously not working with his administration and the clock is ticking faster and faster where more and more republicans are jumping from the Trump train.
As a member of the Greater Big Bend Coalition, I can tell everyone that we will aggressively battle any plans for a wall or remote surveillance towers in Big Bend. We are taking this issue to Congress.