WHY A BORDER WALL COULD MEAN TROUBLE FOR WILDLIFE

Swartz, J. (2019, January 24). Why a Border Wall Could Mean Trouble for Wildlife. Retrieved from https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/24/climate/border-wall-wildlife.html?rref=collection%2Ftimestopic%2FSustainable%20Development&action=click&contentCollection=timestopics&region=stream&module=stream_unit&version=latest&contentPlacement=5&pgtype=collection.

BASICS

• Sourced from the New York Times, written by science writer and climate change expert John Swartz.
• WHAT: There’s already 650 miles of border wall built, but Mr. Trump’s vision is an additional 1000 mile wall to almost completely extend across the 2000 mile border.
• WHO: President Trump, Customs and Border Protection, and Congress are all involved in the wall building process
• WHY: The wall’s intentions are to stop illegal immigration from Mexico to the U.S. Not only will it block the movement of people, but of plant and animal species as well.
• WHEN*: There’s already 650 miles of border wall built, but Mr. Trump’s vision is an additional 1000 mile wall to almost completely extend across the 2000-mile border *Trump proposed his wall idea pre election, the conflict is continuing and ground has not been broken though progress is surely being made
• WHERE: Almost the entire length of the border between Mexico and the U.S (FEDERAL LAND), including a large portion of the Rio Grande
• HOW: Trump wants to spend over $5 billion dollars. The US Customs and Border protection completed building prototypes of the wall which can be found on their website. https://www.cbp.gov/frontline/border-wall-prototype-designs. (Ranging from 18-30 feet high and made of concrete and other materials with anti-scaling and and anti-tampering features)

IMPACTS

• Customs and Border Protection has the power to disregard environmental laws and protections (such as the Endangered Species Act) – they aren’t required to do an environmental analysis of the project or monitor the safety of surrounding wildlife
• The National Wildlife Federation called the border wall “one of the biggest potential ecological disasters of our time.”
• ANIMALS will be unable to escape natural disasters, migrate for food/water and mating, or expand their population where they may need to
• Small endangered populations in Mexico will be isolated (Mexican gray wolf, Sonoran pronghorn)
• Species in Texas like the ocelot and the black bear in the Rio Grande face habitat fragmentation
• PLANTS will also be impacted!!!! Endangered wildflowers and cactus’ only found in areas where the walls are proposed to be built
• Low flying INSECTS will avoid the wall, NOT simply fly over it (butterflies and bees)
• Light and noise pollution during construction will disrupted the nocturnal species in the area
• Wildlife refuges will be divided
• Ecotourism in the Rio Grande will face repercussions, especially bird watching.

SUSTAINABILITY:

Environmentally, the border wall is massively unsustainable because it will not allow for the continuation of species through time, we are curtailing their existence by creating a barrier in the middle of their natural and well deserved habitat. It is an ecological disaster and threatens the wellbeing of hundreds of native species in both Mexico and the U.S.

Economically, the wall will lead to the loss of ecotourism. Hunting, fishing and wildlife-watching contributed nearly $26 billion to border state economies in 2011.

 Politcally, the wall has created a social and emotional divide, whether it be Americans against Amerians, or Americans against Mexicans. This divide could produce major problems through society for years to come due to the oppressive, racist, and classist opinions being formed during current times.

 MORE BACKGROUND/SOURCES

https://cns.utexas.edu/news/proposed-border-wall-will-harm-texas-plants-and-animals-scientists-say

https://academic.oup.com/bioscience/article/68/10/740/5057517

https://earth.stanford.edu/news/how-would-border-wall-affect-wildlife#gs.gZ27EIgx