Arizona Border Wall Opposition

By Mike Evans, Past Conservation Director

We all know that there are negative wildlife conservation impacts to President Donald Trump’s proposed border wall. But can we cite examples and relevant corollaries during a good discussion over a beer or two? My goal to give you the rhetorical ammunition that you need, along with some sources of additional information, in case you want to read more on the topic.

Let’s start with habitat destruction and degradation. The physical barrier will cause only part of the damage. Roads built for the construction, maintenance and continual monitoring of the wall will generate perpetual environmental degradation. Rivers, streams and dry washes will be bridged, channeled or blocked. Because the width of the destruction has yet to be calculated, let alone published, conservationists may still weigh in, if given the chance, on the preliminary and final designs.

Support facilities will be needed during construction. Anyone who has spent time in our national parks and forests know that the Civilian Conservation Corps bases that were used during the Great Depression are still visible 75 years later. Environmental degradation in the desert will last even longer, as there are fewer environmental forces such as rain or snow to help erase the presence of humans.

The ongoing damage to the environment due to maintenance, management, and patrol should not be minimized. Those who have spent time along the border tell stories about being stopped by the Border Patrol in the back country. Motion detectors, sound monitors and observation positions are already used to monitor the border. These will remain in operation, perhaps used more frequently, once a border wall is in place. Motor vehicles will continue to contribute air, water and soil contamination, and runoff from roads will add petroleum distillates to the scarce water and the fragile soil. Noise pollution from vehicles and drones will further affect the wilderness experience. Exhaust, especially by semi-trucks during construction, will foul the air.

The sand and gravel needed to make concrete and asphalt will require extensive mining and concrete manufacturing, resulting in pollution from burning fossil fuels to run the facilities and the industrial trucks that will be hauling the material. Mining also exacerbates dust, already a feature of our desert air. Scenic views will be degraded along with the rest of the environment.

The environmental degradation caused by mining, smelting, manufacturing, and transportation of raw and finished product should also be considered. Rebar and wiring are facts of life in the 21st century. They must be produced somewhere and transported to the border for use. This should motivate Audubon chapters around the country to band together to oppose this environmental catastrophe.

We may safely assume that most of the sand and gravel mining will probably occur near the wall, an infrequently discussed factor. The destruction resulting from sand and gravel mining (most often in our river beds) has yet to be analyzed, however southwesterners are familiar with the disruption and pollution caused by this industry.

While we don’t know the final design of the project, you can be certain that enormous footers will be required to support the wall,and concrete is the primary construction material for footers. Parts of the wall will be anchored directly to bedrock, but the demand for concrete will not be abated. When you discuss this point, you should also mention the irony that the largest producer of cement in the American Southwest is a Mexican owned company!

Localized heat effects and changes in microclimates — and perhaps also to the regional climate — will also be an outgrowth of the permanent change to the borderlands. Gardeners know that east facing and west facing walls have different summertime temperatures; ecologists know that north facing and south facing slopes have different environmental factors. The border wall will destroy microclimates that give the borderlands much of their diversity and result in a different plant and animal community adapted to the presence of this colossus. Over time diversity will diminish. Just look at our desert mountain preserves if you want a relevant example.

What will be the affect on the summer monsoon season? I am aware of no studies that look at this, and. the federal government plans to exempt the construction from all regulations that could slow down or stop the construction. Of course, this will be litigated. Still, the southwestern deserts and mountains biomes have evolved with the yearly gift of the summer monsoon. This continental weather feature should not be ignored.

Another environmental attribute of the borderlands is the pronounced presence of edge effects: changes that occur at the boundaries of adjacent habitats. When multiple habitats in proximity to one another are disturbed, the environment becomes less diverse. We love southeastern Arizona because of the diversity of life. Say goodbye to that diversity if the wall is constructed.

This massive wall and all its support infrastructure will slice through and fragment multiple world-class habitats, including World Heritage Biosphere Reserves. The sky island connection to the Sierra Madres will be cut. The floodplain of the Rio Grande and the Colorado River will be affected. The Sonoran and Chihuahuan Deserts will be bisected. National wildlife refuges will be carved up. It will be a scar visible from outer space!

The logging and mining industries offer examples of habitat destruction. Clear cutting, open pit mining, and mountain top mining are ready examples of what future generations will see along our southern border. The destruction will not be undone during human existence on this planet.

Finally, there are the wildlife conservation issues affecting the jaguar, ocelot and Sonoran Pronghorn migration. Throw in unknown effects on plant pollination, bird migration, and fish, reptile and amphibian populations, and you have the makings of an environmental catastrophe. Forget about the ocelot and the jaguar repopulating their former range. The Sonoran Pronghorn population will be bisected. They are barely holding on as it is. The effects on the rest — plants, birds, fish, reptiles and amphibians — are unknown.

Do you have enough ammunition for rhetorical battle yet? This will be a fight, make no mistake about it, if we are to stop this monstrosity from occurring. I’m ready, how about you?

For more reading, check out these sources:

NPR
The Environmental Consequences of a Wall on the U.S.-Mexico Border
https://www.npr.org/sections/codeswitch/2017/02/17/514356130/the-environmental-consequences-of-a-wall-on-the-u-s-mexico-border

NBC News
Trump’s Border Wall ‘Catastrophic’ for Environment, Endangered Species: Activists
https://www.nbcnews.com/science/environment/trump-s-border-wall-catastrophic-environment-endangered-species-activists-n748446

Scientific American
Trump’s Wall Could Cause Serious Environmental Damage
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/trumps-wall-could-cause-serious-environmental-damage/

The Washington Post
Trump’s border wall would slice through wildlife refuges and cut off U.S. territory in Texas
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/energy-environment/wp/2017/08/07/trumps-border-wall-would-slice-through-wildlife-refuges-and-cut-off-u-s-territory-in-texas/?utm_term=.bc530bbcd67e

Audubon
Possible Border Wall Plans Would Be ‘Devastating’ for Santa Ana National Wildlife Refuge
http://www.audubon.org/news/possible-border-wall-plans-would-be-devastating-santa-ana-national-wildlife

Audubon
Embattled Borderlands: Will the border wall strike a fatal blow to one of the most imperiled wild regions in North America?
http://www.audubon.org/features/esri-embattled-borderlands

Sierra Club
Borderlands: No Border Wall!
https://www.sierraclub.org/borderlands

Center for Biological Diversity
No Border Wall
https://www.biologicaldiversity.org/campaigns/border_wall/

Defenders of Wildlife
Proposed Border Wall Funding Threatens Wildlife, Communities
https://defenders.org/press-release/proposed-border-wall-funding-threatens-wildlife-communities

Mike Evans
Conservation Director