Dive Brief:
- U.S. Customs and Border Protection paused all construction activity in Big Bend National Park in Texas, according to a Monday agency statement.
- CBP Commissioner Rodney Scott said he will conduct a “personal evaluation, talk to some stakeholders, talk to local law enforcement in that area” about the planned border security improvements, according to a video posted on X Monday.
- CBP had recently pushed back on reports about the extent of construction planned for the park in an Aug. 13 statement, such as a 30-foot wall and stadium lighting.
Dive Insight:
The agency said last week it would only build one new access road, improve existing roads, install detection technology and place vehicle barriers in strategic locations. CBP said its plans did not include the construction of a 30-foot wall or stadium lighting, according to the statement.
However, the National Parks Conservation Association said federal contractors brought heavy equipment into Big Bend and already disturbed miles of terrain in the area. The group said videos showed contractor activity around Mariscal Mountain and near Santa Elena Canyon, according to a news release.
“Unfortunately, the federal contractors’ bulldozers have already inflicted tremendous damage to one of America’s most iconic national parks,” Tiernan Sittenfeld, president and CEO for NPCA, a Washington, D.C.-based independent advocacy organization, said in the group’s release. “Their heavy equipment has torn through miles of priceless wild landscape, wreaking havoc on sensitive wildlife and irreplaceable habitat.”
NPCA told Construction Dive that five border security infrastructure projects are planned for the Big Bend region covering 517 miles. The group claims President Donald Trump’s administration waived environmental laws designed to protect national parks.
CBP, however, countered that it does not plan to build any wall structure on the land, according to a statement sent to Construction Dive. The agency said its involvement in the area is to evaluate technology options to meet Trump’s mission of zero illegal border crossings.
“What people have been seeing over the past few weeks in Big Bend National Park is survey and design work — not construction of a physical wall through the park,” according to the CBP statement sent to Construction Dive. “To be clear, CBP is not planning to construct a 30-foot-high barrier in Big Bend National Park, Big Bend Ranch State Park or the Black Gap Wildlife Management area.”
Nevertheless, the NPCA said activity in the region is unnecessary, due to the area’s remoteness and rugged terrain.
“The National Parks Conservation Association is calling for a permanent halt to border construction in Big Bend,” Erika Pelletier, Texas associate director for NCPA, told Construction Dive. “Big Bend does not need heavy border infrastructure. Harsh desert conditions and unforgiving mountain terrain already form natural barriers that discourage unsanctioned border crossings at Big Bend. Crossing the border in or near Big Bend National Park is incredibly dangerous.”
Scott, in the video posted on X, said there is “a pause on all activity in that park as far as construction goes until I can get down there.”
