Construction Halted In Big Bend National Park Following Widespread Opposition
Screenshot Credit: Laiken Jordahl, The Center for Biological Diversity
Construction has been temporarily paused in Big Bend National Park after bulldozers began cutting into the protected West Texas landscape earlier this month, as plaintiffs seek emergency court action to prevent further border barrier and road construction across the Big Bend region.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection announced the pause Monday, the same day the Center for Biological Diversity, Friends of the Ruidosa Church, and a Big Bend-area river guide and landowner asked a federal judge to halt construction while the court considers their lawsuit challenging the federal government’s waiver of environmental and other laws used to fast-track the project.
CBP Commissioner Rodney Scott said in a statement today:
“CBP is pausing all construction activity in Big Bend National Park while I visit and conduct a personal, on-the-ground evaluation.
“CBP is firmly committed to protecting America, and that includes our national treasures like Big Bend National Park (BBNP). We know the current and predictable national security threats and they are real. Now over the next couple of days, I will join a small team to evaluate the terrain and listen to local leadership, community members and stakeholders to ensure that we secure our borders while simultaneously protecting BBNP for generations to come.”
According to the Center for Biological Diversity, bulldozers began work inside Big Bend National Park near Santa Elena Canyon on August 6 and were documented over the weekend creating new routes for vehicle barriers on the east and west sides of Mariscal Mountain. Contractors have also stockpiled heavy equipment across the region, where staging areas have been cleared, worker camps have been built, and water wells have been drilled.
Although CBP has paused construction, the Center warns that work could resume without action from Congress or the court.
“We’ve been watching the permanent destruction of a great American national park unfold in real time,” said Laiken Jordahl, national public lands advocate at the Center for Biological Diversity. “Even with Customs and Border Protection pumping the breaks, the contractors could resume bulldozing deeper into the national park, causing irreversible damage to the wildest place in Texas. We’re hopeful the judge will stop this destruction until there’s a ruling on the merits of our case.”
The underlying lawsuit challenges the federal government’s waiver of dozens of laws to expedite border barrier construction through Big Bend National Park, Big Bend Ranch State Park and the surrounding Big Bend region.
The plaintiffs are represented by attorneys with the Center for Biological Diversity and Texas Civil Rights Project.
World Animal News will continue to follow the federal court proceedings and whether construction will resume in Big Bend National Park.
