Former Big Bend National Park Officials Urge Homeland Security Secretary Not To Allow "Wholesale And Unaccountable Destruction" Of The Park

Former Big Bend National Park officials, whose first letter to Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin asking that he not waive environmental regulations to allow construction of a border wall in the park was ignored, have written a second asking that he not allow "wholesale and unaccountable destruction" of the park.

It was a week ago that Mullin waived the National Environmental Policy Act, Endangered Species Act, National Park Service Organic Act, the Clean Water Act, the Historic Preservation Act, the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, the Migratory Bird Conservation Act, the Archaeological Resources Protection Act, the Paleontological Resources Protection Act, the Federal Caves Protection Act, and a slew of other national, state and local environmental laws "to ensure the expeditious construction of barriers and roads in the vicinity of the international land border in the state of Texas."

On May 21 the former Big Bend officials had written Mullin to say erecting a southern border wall through Big Bend would be “the most egregious assault” on the National Park System since a majestic Yosemite National Park valley was flooded by a dam’s construction more than a century ago.

On Monday the officials — Bob Krumenaker, David Elkowitz, Cindy Ott-Jones, Bill Wellman, John H. King, Robert Arnberger, and H. Gilbert Lusk — dispatched another letter to Mullin suggesting that "that it is still possible to enhance border security in Big Bend National Park without destroying what makes it one of America’s most treasured landscapes."

"You now seem to believe you have unlimited authority and no legal accountability. While we wish it were otherwise, we nonetheless appeal to your patriotism and commitment to the full range of what makes America great by doing everything possible to minimize unnecessary impacts to Big Bend National Park," they added. "A secure border and conserving America’s natural and cultural resources do not have to be in conflict."

In mid-May the Customs and Border Protection (CBP) commissioner said the agency would not build a wall in Big Bend, but a week later the agency awarded a $1.7 billion contract for border wall construction in the Big Bend region. The contract went to Southwest Valley Constructors Co. and was awarded on May 11. It shows a “current end date” of May 11, 2027.

The contract specified that the money was to go toward the “construction task order for border wall in Big Bend Texas.” A second $4.5 million contract was awarded two days later to Vernadero Group Inc. for “resource monitoring support of construction of border wall in Big Bend Texas.”

According to details obtained by the National Parks Traveler, the scope of work includes 17 miles of unspecified vehicle barriers inside and adjacent to the national park, as well as 205 miles of “system attributes (patrol roads and technology)” in unspecified locations. 

In their latest letter, under the auspices of Keep Big Bend Wild and the Coalition to Protect America's National Parks, the former park officials suggested that Mullin:

• Toss out a plan to build 17 miles of metal vehicle barriers, "[A]s there is no history, nor risk, of vehicles crossing the Rio Grande at the two middle locations."
• Dismiss a plan to build a road parallel to the existing 51-mile-long unpaved River Road, as there "is no security benefit to" catching undocumented immigrants closer to the river.
• Use advanced aerial surveillance systems, rather than additional ground sensors with underground power sensors.
• Don't build new staging areas or camps inside the national park, as they likely will "unnecessarily damage park resources and cause permanent visual scars."
• Truck in any water needed to support construction activities "rather than overtax the park's existing wells and delivery systems." "New wells would further deplete precious groundwater resources needed both for park residents and visitors, as well as wildlife, including endangered animals. While you have waived the Endangered Species Act, you don’t have to violate its intent with impunity."
• Don't allow any more lighting at the Boquillas Port of Entry.

"We are pleased to see that you have opened a comment period. Please show the American people that you take their views seriously, and suspend all planning and do nothing on the ground in the national park until those comments are analyzed, published, considered, and your plans are modified in response and again shared with the public," the former officials wrote.