How the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals rules on the Trump administration's bid to build a towering wall across the southern border of Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument in Arizona could wash out the Milky Way for visitors, block wildlife movements, and turn the border line into something of an industrial construction zone, according to the local Sierra Club representative.

With Democrats gaining the majority in the House of Representatives, expect to see more inquiries into how the Interior Department is run, perhaps a slowdown or halt in the development of new management plans for Grand Staircase-Escalante and Bears Ears national monuments, greater oversight into reorganization of Interior, and more light of day for parks-related legislation offered by House Democrats.

Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke is being pressed by a congressman to explain the thinking and associated costs behind sending National Park Service rangers to Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument and Amistad National Recreation Area to help with border control.

While Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument officials believe the monument that hugs the U.S.-Mexico border is much safer than it was a decade or two ago, there are still those trying to smuggle drugs into the country through the park. Already this year rangers have confiscated more than 600 pounds of marijuana in the monument.