Traveler's View | The Emasculation Of The National Park Service

With the stroke of his pen, or a few taps on his keyboard, Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin emasculated the National Park Service.

By waiving a long list of environmental laws and regulations so some sort of border barrier could be built through Big Bend National Park, Mullin demonstrated how easily the Park Service can be made frivolous, and there was no outcry by Jessica Bowron, the acting director of the agency, nor the Republican majority in Congress. They're all along for the ride.

Since 1916, the Park Service’s prime mandate under the National Park Service Organic Act has been to “conserve the scenery and the natural and historic objects and the wild life therein … in such manner and by such means as will leave them unimpaired for the enjoyment of future generations.”

But Mullin’s actions discarded all the authorities the Park Service had to enforce its mandate.

Bob Krumenaker, a veteran of more than 40 years with the Park Service, a former Big Bend superintendent, and chair of Keep Big Bend Wild, said he understands staff at Big Bend has expressed concerns to Customs and Border Protection officials regarding possible impacts from construction of a wall, but "they’ve received no assurances their concerns will be heeded. And with the waiver, any such assurances given would be worth nothing as there’s no enforcement mechanism." 

Here's a list of all the laws Mullin tossed into his garbage:

• The National Environmental Policy Act
• The Endangered Species Act
• The Federal Water Pollution Control Act (commonly referred to as the Clean Water Act)
• The National Historic Preservation Act
• The Migratory Bird Treaty Act
• The Migratory Bird Conservation Act
• The Clean Air Act
• The Archeological Resources Protection Act
• The Paleontological Resources Preservation Act
• The Federal Cave Resources Protection Act of 1988
• The National Trails System Act
• The Safe Drinking Water Act
• The Noise Control Act
• The Solid Waste Disposal Act,
• The Resource Conservation and Recovery Act
• The Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (aka CERCLA)
• The Archaeological and Historic Preservation Act
• The Antiquities Act
• The Historic Sites, Buildings, and Antiquities Act
• The Eagle Protection Act
• The Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act
• The Administrative Procedure Act
• The National Fish and Wildlife Act of 1956 
• The Fish and Wildlife Coordination Act
• The Farmland Protection Policy Act
• The Wild Horse and Burro Act
• The Wild and Scenic Rivers Act
• The Federal Land Policy and Management Act
• The Wilderness Act
• The National Park Service Organic Act and the National Park Service General Authorities 

In other words, Customs and Border Protection crews in Big Bend can kill bald and golden eagles, dam the Rio Grande River, trample Native American gravesites, destroy paleontological remains, run bulldozers through potential wilderness, erase trails, spew air and water pollution, and more without concern of any ramifications.

"Waiving environmental laws to ram a $1.7 billion border wall through Big Bend National Park is fiscally reckless, ineffective, and an unconscionable sacrifice of one of America's most irreplaceable wild landscapes," said Tim Whitehouse, executive director of Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility. "It sets a terrible precedent for our ability to consider and address environmental impacts of development projects in other parks."

Proof that the National Park Service is but an afterthought to the Trump administration can be traced, at least, to March when we asked Interior Department staff whether the Park Service had any concerns about impacts to Big Bend if a border wall was built in the park. We were told to ask the "Department of War."

U.S. Rep. Lloyd Doggett, a Democrat from Austin, Texas, has voiced outrage.

"Waiving dozens of federal environmental protections in Big Bend National Park—a true crown jewel of Texas—will damage the park's natural environment, increase flash flooding along the border, and choke off wildlife corridors,” said Doggett in the wake of Mullin's waivers. “Billions of taxpayer dollars are being wasted on this unnecessary project, as Big Bend's rugged mountains make illegal crossings nearly impossible, with crossings in the area accounting for under half a percentage point of all illegal border crossings nationwide last year.

"After months of bipartisan opposition, the Trump regime continues to distract and confuse the public while quietly moving forward with this construction," added the Democrat.

In a late May letter to Doggett, CBP Commissioner Rodney Scott told the Democrat the agency would tread carefully in the park.

"Border security measures in the Big Bend National Park or the Big Bend Ranch State Park will be adapted to the terrain; and they will use technology, such as cameras and sensors, along with a limited number of low-profile vehicle barriers and patrol roads strategically placed to leverage the landscape that serves as a natural deterrent," Scott wrote on May 21. "Additionally, lighting will not be installed due to environmental considerations and operational requirements. Instead, CBP will use infrared illuminators on cameras for visibility in the dark."

U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar, another Democrat from Texas, tried to halt the border barrier project through action in the House Appropriations Committee, but that failed on a party-line vote.

With an anti-federal lands and pro-ICE mood in Congress these days, you might wonder whether Mullin will move next to waive all those laws and regulations in Glacier National Park or North Cascades National Park?