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Say NO to the Border Fence! The natural recovery of Mexican black bears in the Chisos Mountains of Big Bend National Park would suffer a major setback if a fence is built on the U.S.-Mexico border. The bear population on the US side is very small and dependent on bears being able to cross back and forth across from Mexico. Photo courtesy Tom Bean.
A major disaster for wildlife and
parks along the U.S.--Mexico border may soon become reality if concerned
citizens can not rally enough support to stop the construction of 700 mile
fence. On April 1, for the fourth time in the past 2 years, U.S. Department of
Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff used his authority to waive more
than 30 environmental laws to expedite building 370 miles worth of new fencing
along the U.S. Mexico border, including 57 miles of continuous wire mesh fencing
and 21 miles of high-powered lighting from El Paso downstream along the Rio
Grande. Being faced with growing and unexpectedly fierce opposition, DHS is
cutting every corner in an attempt to complete 700 miles worth of fencing before
the Bush Administration is out of office.
If DHS moves forward with fence construction before proper environmental
analysis is completed, there will be serious impacts to wildlife and their
habitats in the borderland region, including areas such as the Cabeza Prieta
National Wildlife Refuge, the Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument, the San Pedro
Riparian National Conservation Area, Big Bend National Park, the Lower Rio
Grande Valley Wildlife Refuge, and the Rio Grande near El Paso. Within these
areas live a number of endangered and threatened species, including jaguar,
Mexican black bear, ocelot, Gila monster, and Sonoran pronghorn. The Rio Grande
is an extraordinarily important area for wildlife in the Chihuahuan Desert, and
an important migratory flyway for birds. The proposed fence will block wildlife
access and passage, and the proposed lights could adversely affect migratory
birds.
After calling your governor, please email "I did it" to aguss@wildmesquite.org Key Reasons to Take Action:
For more information, contact Adam at of the Southwest Environmental Center in Las Cruces, New Mexico at (575) 522-5552.
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Big Bend activists asking for help with
Borderlands Conservation and Security Act H.R. 2593, the Borderlands Conservation and Security Act, would amend
existing border security laws which hinder strategic border security efforts
and needlessly ignore environmental impacts and local communities. The status quo results in uninformed construction to the detriment of wildlife, citizens and border security: At present, section 102(c) of the Real ID Act grants the DHS Secretary broad and unparalleled authority to waive any and all federal, state and local laws when constructing barriers along the U.S. Border. As a result important considerations, such as blocking vital cross-border wildlife movement, are dismissed in the rush to waive laws and push forward with construction. Citizens, border security experts and land management agencies are all but cut out of the border security decisions. Citizens are denied the right to establish how border walls may devastate local economies dependant on ecotourism, legal international trade and good relations. Indeed, in the most recent waiver case in San Pedro Riparian National Conservation Area, citizens were denied the right to participate or inform the decision at all. HR. 2593 would give land management agencies, Native American tribes, and local communities a voice in border construction and decision-making. The
status quo threatens the nation’s commitment to the rule of law:
DHS has invoked the Real ID Act waiver three times, waiving more laws with
each successive use. Recently, in response to a court determination that DHS
border wall construction violated the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA),
the Secretary waived not just NEPA but eighteen other laws as well, each of
which was passed by Congress to protect public health, imperiled wildlife,
or to guarantee citizens the right and a process to address arbitrary and
capricious decisions of their government. And yet, each was waived without
congressional oversight, a means of recourse for the public impacted, or any
explanation. A notice was filed in the Federal Register and automatically
nineteen laws were dismissed. Authorizing DHS to ignore all laws is no way
to signal that the rule of law is to be respected. The president does not
have the authority to waive laws at will, neither should an unelected
official. We need an urgent and strategic solution to border security, not
a reckless one which threatens the rule of law. H.R. 2593 would require
compliance with laws meant to protect the air, water, wildlife, culture, and
the health and safety of people in borderland communities.
Congressman Reyes was recently
interviewed about the Act.
Are our US border parks endangered by the border wall? by Rick LoBello, ILoveParks.com
Up until a few years ago our immigration policies were apparently working. But now that our leaders in Washington have been unable to come up with a solution to immigration problems, Congress and Homeland Security have decided that the best solution is to erect a wall between Mexico and the United States. They say in their Environmental Assessment that there will be no major impact to the environment.
If built as planned the wall will not only
hurt the environment, but also the economy and culture of the border as
well. Walls built between countries have a long history of creating
feelings of mistrust while tearing at the fabrics of diverse cultures. It
wasn’t that long ago when President Reagan on June 12, 1987 went to the
Brandenburg Gate in West Berlin, Germany and called out “Come here to this
gate! Mr. Gorbachev, open this gate! Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!
Will the future of the US include a chapter where the President of Mexico
comes to our border and says “Mr. President, tear down this wall!”
Last week I attended a rally in Marfa,
Texas where over 100 people gathered outside the Paisano Hotel to rally
support for a growing movement in Texas to stop the wall. What was learned
at the public hearing was easy to understand, our government has decided to
build the wall, and they are simply going through the Environmental
Assessment process as a way of living up to their legal responsibilities.
Contact Your Elected Officials. Let them know how you feel about the Border Wall. Many have already stated publically that they are against the wall.
Mayor of El Paso, John
Cook
District 1
Representative Ann
Morgan Lilly 541-4151
District 2 Representative - Susie Byrd
District 3 Representative – Open
District 4 Representative - Melina Castro
#2
Civic Center Plaza, El Paso, Texas 79901
District 5 Representative - Rachel Quintana
#2
Civic Center Plaza, El Paso, Texas 79901
District 6 Representative - Eddie Holguin Jr
District 7 Representative - Steve Ortega
District 8 Representative - Beto O'Rourke
County
Judge Anthony Cobos
County
Commissioner Precinct 1 Luis Sariņana
County
Commissioner Precinct 2
Veronica Escobar
County
Commissioner, Precinct 3 Miguel A. Teran
County Commissioner,
Precinct 4 Daniel R. Haggerty TX
State Representative
Norma Chavez TX
State Representative
Pat Haggerty TX
State Representative
Paul Moreno TX
State Representative
Joe Pickett TX
State Representative "Chente"
Quintanilla TX
State
Senator Eliot Shapleigh
Congressman Silvestre
Reyes
Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison
Senator John Cornyn
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Are our US
border parks endangered by the
border wall?
The Border Campaign of the Sierra Club – Grand Canyon Chapter has completed
a 20 minute
video about the environmental effects of the current border policy,
“Wild Versus Wall.” This video covers the ecological effects of enforcement
and infrastructure in the four states that share boundaries with Mexico.
Tucson-based filmmaker Steev Hise has been working on the film since
January, 2007. He traveled to Texas and California during the spring to
interview land managers, scientists, and activists who are working to limit
the ecological impacts of border wall construction.
“I have been covering border issues in southern Arizona for a while,” said
Hise. “One of the great things about this project was traveling to other
places along the border and to see how people concerned about the recent
border militarization have the same outlook as people do here. They are also
trying to stop the Department of Homeland Security from running roughshod
over natural resources and constitutional rights.”
US & Mexico wildlife species that will be
affected by border wall National Park List of Sister Parks
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