Feds Waive 31 Environmental and Resource Protection Laws to Blast Barriers and Bulldoze Roads in Big Bend National Park
For the first time in U.S. history, the federal government cancels all environmental laws in a national park
“This decision will be remembered by generations of Texans—and all Americans—as a waste of our money and an assault on not just our iconic desert but on the values that our national parks epitomize.” - Bob Krumenaker, former Big Bend National Park Superintendent and current chair of Keep Big Bend Wild
After many, many months of inconsistent messaging, a complete lack of communication, and massive public confusion about Homeland Security’s plans for a border wall in Big Bend National Park and Big Bend Ranch State Park, we—finally—got some clarifications today.
And it’s not good.
This is the big one.
Today, Monday, June 8, Secretary of Homeland Security Markwayne Mullin waived no fewer than 31 federal conservation, environmental, and resource protection laws. This is the highest number of laws ever waived in the Big Bend Sector—and it’s specifically to allow for border barrier and patrol road construction within Big Bend National Park.
The laws that no longer apply to the border area in the national park and the adjacent state park are the following.
Administrative Procedure Act
Antiquities Act
Archaeological and Historic Preservation Act
Archaeological Resources Protection Act
Clean Air Act
Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act
Eagle Protection Act
Energy Independence and Security Act
Endangered Species Act
Farmland Protection Policy Act
Fish and Wildlife Coordination Act
Historic Sites, Buildings, and Antiquities Act
Federal Cave Resources Protection Act
Federal Land Policy and Management Act
Federal Water Pollution Control Act
Migratory Bird Conservation Act
Migratory Bird Treaty Act
National Environmental Policy Act
National Fish and Wildlife Act
National Historic Preservation Act
National Park Service General Authorities Act
National Park Service Organic Act
National Trails System Act
Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act
Noise Control Act
Paleontological Resources Protection Act
Safe Drinking Water Act
Solid Waste Disposal Act
Wilderness Act
Wild and Scenic Rivers Act
Wild Horse and Burro Act
Those are major laws, including the very law that created the National Park Service itself. This is without precedent.
This is the first time in U.S. history that the federal government has cancelled pretty much all existing environmental and resource protection laws in a national park.
This is huge.
In a notice of determination, Homeland Security said that “it is necessary to waive certain laws, regulations, and other legal requirements in order to ensure the expeditious construction of barriers and roads in the vicinity of the international land border in the state of Texas.”
Homeland Security Secretary Mullin has the authority to do this under the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996, as well as subsequent laws such as the REAL ID Act of 2005 and the Secure Fence Act of 2006.
Earlier in May, DHS awarded a contract of $1.7 billion of our taxpayer money to the Albuquerque-based industrial construction company Southwest Valley Constructors Co. for a “border wall in Big Bend Texas,” specified further as Big Bend National Park.
According to information a source told me, that was later updated to include:
17 miles of vehicle barriers inside and adjacent to the park
205 miles of “system attributes (patrol roads and technology)” in unspecified locations
At the time, the $1.7 billion contract was the largest border wall contract ever awarded to a single company in American history.
That record was broken just last week, when DHS awarded a massive $2.6 billion contract for the Lower Canyons stretch of the Rio Grande Wild and Scenic River to Fisher Sand & Gravel Co., a construction company whose CEO is a prominent GOP donor with close ties to the White House.
As with other federal projects like “renovations” in Washington, D.C. this has raised serious questions about transparency and even corruption.
As I wrote in my last article about the Big Bend border barrier saga on May 21, which talked about seven former Big Bend National Park superintendents opposing a border barrier and new patrol roads, “the next step in the process is waiving all those laws for the national park.”
That next step has now effectively been taken, and it’s the final step before actual construction will begin in the park, which is now a very likely scenario.
With this latest waiver, the entire Big Bend Sector—including the national and state parks—is now without any federal environmental or resource protections, allowing DHS to pollute, blast, and bulldoze at will.
“The absolute disdain this administration has for our national parks is disgraceful, and now they’re targeting Texas’ most beloved national park,” said Laiken Jordahl, National Public Lands Advocate at the Center for Biological Diversity.
“The only people benefiting from this destruction are the billionaire contractors set to pad their pockets while paving over our natural heritage and permanently locking a great American river behind hideous steel barriers. We won’t stop fighting for this crown-jewel national park and the Rio Grande.”
In addition to the seven former Big Bend National Park superintendents, countless other people, groups, and organizations have also publicly spoken out against a border barrier in Big Bend. That includes a bipartisan coalition of all five border county sheriffs, as well as all fourteen judges representing all border counties in the state of Texas.
In March, over 130 outfitters, organizations, and rural Texas businesses implored Congress to block federal funding for Big Bend border wall construction.
Why is opposition so strong?
Simple: because a border wall, and even new patrol roads, would completely destroy the border landscape, on which both humans and wildlife rely. Also: because a border wall isn’t necessary in this region thanks to its remote and rugged terrain and extremely low number of illegal border crossings (due to that terrain).
“If a border wall—or other unnecessary and highly destructive border infrastructure—is built inside Big Bend National Park, it would be the most egregious assault on the integrity of the entire National Park System since the construction of a dam in the Hetchy Hetchy Valley in Yosemite National Park more than a century ago,” the former Big Bend superintendents wrote in an open letter.
In response to this waiver, Bob Krumenaker, one of the former superintendents and current chair of Keep Big Bend Wild, said that “with Monday’s announcement, the Administration unfortunately showed it couldn’t care less about well-meaning efforts to make effective policy on public lands.”
“This decision will be remembered by generations of Texans—and all Americans—as a waste of our money and an assault on not just our iconic desert but on the values that our national parks epitomize.”
The effects of this wall on the environment and the area’s tourism industry would be nothing short of catastrophic. This is a wall that would sever wildlife migration routes, cut off river access to both people and animals alike, remove campsites and trailheads, annihilate the park’s world-class night sky viewing, and cause massive pollution.
“Big Bend National Park stands out for its unique desert landscape. With more nesting bird species than any other national park, towering canyon walls, and the largest international dark sky reserve in the entire world, Big Bend is an integral addition to our nation’s natural heritage,” said Cheryl Shreier, chair of the Coalition to Protect America’s National Parks.
“New infrastructure threatens all of this, heightening flood risk, inundating the skies with lights, and cutting off migration patterns for animals. Building in Big Bend would be mutilating an extraordinary landscape at a massive cost to the taxpayer—with little ultimate benefit.”
“These horrific plans are an affront to the millions of Americans who treasure Big Bend,” said Jordahl. “Politicians who’ve never set foot here are signing a death warrant for this wild and beautiful place.”
Customs and Border Protection’s now-infamous “Smart Wall Map” currently shows plans for steel vehicle barriers and patrol roads in Big Bend National Park and Big Bend Ranch State Park.
Today’s waiver of environmental, conservation, and resource protection laws, the Center for Biological Diversity says, “authorizes construction of the full suite of border barrier infrastructure, including ‘fencing, barriers, roads, lighting, cameras, and sensors.’”
How You Can Help Save Big Bend National Park
If you care about Big Bend National Park, Big Bend Ranch State Park, the Rio Grande itself, and the greater Big Bend area—all of which are at risk here—please keep the pressure on. Keep supporting the local and national organizations who are pushing back against this unpopular wall and other destructive infrastructure:
Follow them on social media and share their posts. Check out their advocacy resources. Support them with a donation if you can.
If you live in Texas yourself, contact your Senators and Representative. That includes both national and state politicians, even Governor Greg Abbott himself:
If you don’t live in Texas, you can still contact your Senators and Representative and ask them to block funding for border barrier and road construction in Big Bend. Use the “U.S. Congress” link above to find them.
Alternativel, you can also use this 5calls.org script.
Another meaningful way to push back against the Big Bend border infrastructure, regardless of whether you live in Texas or elsewhere in the country, is adding your signature to the Big Bend petition, which, at the time of writing, has amassed over 140,000 signatures.
Lastly, help spread the word. Share this article. Tell your friends, family, and neighbors about it. Post about protecting Big Bend National Park on social media.
Thanks for reading!
See you on our public lands and waters,
Bram
Won’t be the last time