Trump Is Building a Border Wall Through a National Park Where Almost Nobody Crosses - Happy Earth Day!

Happy Earth Day. The Trump administration is building a border wall through Big Bend National Park and the adjoining state park, one of the most remote and ecologically irreplaceable landscapes in the United States. Big Bend accounts for roughly one percent of all border apprehensions in the entire country. In 22 years of guiding river trips through the region, one local guide has seen exactly one group of migrants cross. The administration waived more than two dozen environmental laws in February to fast-track construction. After massive bipartisan backlash - conservative judges, sheriffs, ranchers, and tourism operators all united against it - the CBP map quietly changed in April to show detection technology instead of a physical wall through the national park. The tractors didn’t leave. Roads are being widened, survey stakes are in the ground, and a $1.2 billion contract was awarded to Fisher Sand and Gravel at $17 million a mile. Fifth-generation cattle rancher Yolanda Alvarado’s family cemetery will be cut in half by the wall. Her grandparents are buried there. The Center for Biological Diversity just filed a lawsuit arguing the environmental waivers are unconstitutional. The former Big Bend superintendent says existing surveillance technology has already been working. Crossings have dropped to historic lows under Trump’s own crackdown. There is no operational need for this wall. Donate to Keep Big Bend Wild and the Center for Biological Diversity’s legal fund. Call your representatives. Remember who did this. Make sure to subscribe to More Than Just Parks Get full access to The Rogue Voice aka Linsay Rousseau at linsayrousseau.substack.com/subscribe