Would Texas Gov. Greg Abbott ever get permission to build a border wall through the Rio Grande River and Santa Elena Canyon at Big Bend National Park?/Rebecca Latson file
Though it's a long way from becoming a reality, Texas Governor Greg Abbott's proposed border wall along his state's boundary with Mexico could run into a Texas-sized problem at Big Bend National Park.
For starters, he'd have to get the Biden administration to approve of a wall slicing through the iconic Southwestern park.
"Any serious proposal to construct a border wall inside Big Bend National Park by the state of Texas will no doubt require negotiations between the state and the highest levels of the federal government," park Superintendent Bob Krumenaker said Tuesday via email. "It won't be my call, but all the reasons that make the wall unlikely or logistically challenging would have to be addressed and the public would have a lot to say. To the best of my knowledge, the Border Patrol does not see a benefit to a wall inside the national park either."
Not only is much of Big Bend's landscape topographically challenging when it comes to building walls, but the Rio Grande Wild and Scenic River also delineates much of the park's southern border with Mexico. Where the river is swallowed by Santa Elena Canyon also is a highly visited spot, and the river itself draws paddlers. Which side of a wall would they float by?
"Not sure how or where it could be built inside a canyon," Krumenaker said when asked how Abbott's proposed wall would impact the river and the canyon. "In addition to the obvious aesthetics and impact on wildlife, walls block water, and water flows downhill. A wall anywhere along the Rio Grande would become a dam, and especially so in narrow side canyons."
Of course, it goes without saying that any border wall through Big Bend would dash those long-harbored dreams of an international park melding the transnational Big Bend/Rio Bravo region that former U.S. Interior Secretary Ken Salazar and Mexican Environment and Natural Resources Secretary Juan Rafael Elvira Quesada back in 2011 envisioned as "North America’s largest and most diverse desert ecosystem."
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That this idea is even floating in the head of Texas' highest ranking official is mind-boggling.
I've been visiting Big Bend since 1973 and have traveled extensively throughout the park. On the rare occasion when I've arrived in a location where I've felt uncomfortable, I've left. Never been advised by a ranger or anyone else to avoid a specific area due to potential encounters with illegals/smugglers.
It seems to me that the great state of Texas has far more pressing issues to confront. One that comes to mind is the government's total failure during the cold spell last winter. Wouldn't it be more productive to put some rational thought toward a solution to that statewide problem than to waste time and money talking about one that doesn't even exist?
Has Abbott actually proposed a wall in Big Bend?
Abbott has proposed a wall on state lands and on the private land of property owners willing to volunteer their land for construction. State lands could very well include Big Bend Ranch State Park, if nothing more than to give him some "miles built" to crow about.
Abbott is a puppet who does what he's told to do. And there are plenty of others like him who willingly destroy the land just to make money or get votes. They're in comfy houses with ac and exterminators on call. Nature is little more than an inconvenience to them, and they are blind to the fouling of their own nest.