The remote stretch of the southern border that runs through Big Bend National Park in West Texas could see the installation of border barriers under President Trump’s “Smart Wall” plan, according to updates shared online by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) in recent days.
As recently as Feb. 13, a CBP map of border security projects showed just a “technology only” project planned for the entire stretch of the national park, which encompasses 800,000 acres of pristine Chihuahuan Desert landscape and attracts more than half a million visitors annually.
Sometime over the following weekend, that map was updated to include plans for a new 112-mile “primary border wall system” project along the Rio Grande through much of the park, including some of its most popular tourist destinations and landmarks. The project essentially spans the entirety of national park save for where the canyons — Santa Elena, Mariscal and Boquillas — provide a natural wall.
CBP did not immediately answer questions about the updated border wall project, but an agency spokesperson confirmed to Inside Climate News that the national park is now included in the scope of the “Smart Wall” plan.
A spokesperson for Big Bend National Park did not answer questions about the plan, but a regional Interior Department press office said in a statement the department "remains committed to protecting public lands while supporting interagency efforts that advance national security and public safety." The press office referred questions about border security to the Department of Homeland Security and the U.S. Border Patrol.
The potential wall expansion into the national park is the latest in a series of rapid developments along the border that indicate the federal government is speeding up its efforts for new border security infrastructure across the rugged and sparsely populated region, which had previously been spared from such efforts.
A 175-mile stretch of the Rio Grande north of the national park, from Fort Quitman in Hudspeth County to Colorado Canyon in Big Bend Ranch State Park, was recently revealed to be a part of another “Smart Wall” project.
Landowners have recently been contacted about leasing land for wall construction in Presidio County, public officials have fielded calls from project engineers, and on Friday DHS moved to waive 28 environmental protection laws to speed up wall construction in the area. So far, that notice includes portions of Big Bend Ranch State Park but not Big Bend National Park.
CBP previously told Marfa Public Radio the entire stretch of the Big Bend Sector’s border with Mexico — 517 miles — is scheduled to receive new infrastructure or upgrades, which, depending on terrain, may include “any combination of barrier installation, technology deployment, and road improvements.”
CBP broadly describes the “Smart Wall” as “comprised of a steel bollard wall or waterborne barrier, along with roads, detection technology, cameras and lighting and in some cases a secondary wall – creating an enforcement zone,” according to an FAQ portion of the project’s website.
The agency has said contracts for these projects are expected to be awarded in the coming weeks and months and construction could last several years.
On Tuesday, the Department of Homeland Security announced that Parsons Government Services Inc. will “oversee and manage the completion” of border wall construction, which is expected to be complete by early 2028.
“We’re accelerating our efforts by using private sector expertise with the unprecedented level of investment from President Trump’s One Big Beautiful Act,” Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin wrote in the announcement. The bill allocated a whopping $46.5 billion for border wall construction, which is not impacted by government shut downs.
Hundreds of army troops and tactical vehicles have been stationed across the Big Bend region since last spring, as a part of the Trump administration's effort to secure the southern border. Big Bend National Park also works closely with Border Patrol and has its own law enforcement division.
The continued border security crackdown comes as the number of people attempting to cross the border illegally — here and border-wide — has plummeted to record lows.
While much of the border wall construction process is playing out behind closed doors due to contracting and procurement laws being waived by DHS, what information the media has been able to share with the public has sparked outrage among local residents and officials in a region largely defined by its untouched natural beauty.
Brewster County Judge Greg Henington, a Republican and the county’s top elected official, told Marfa Public Radio this week that he is against any border walls coming to his county, which contains Big Bend National Park. Henington ran a local river outfitter for decades before becoming county judge.
“While I understand and appreciate border security, we are opposed to the construction of any physical wall along either the state park or national park boundaries including the Wild & Scenic river section,” Henington said.
A newly-formed opposition group going by the name of No Big Bend Border Wall said in a statement that physical walls in the region would “only cause harm.”
“This is one of the most remote stretches of the border, where terrain already functions as a barrier,” the group said. “A permanent steel wall would industrialize Big Bend National Park and Big Bend Ranch State Park and surrounding communities, restrict access to the Rio Grande, damage tourism and private property, and destroy irreplaceable archaeological records.”
Some residents are encouraging locals to contact their elected representatives to make their voice heard on the issue.
Republican U.S. House Rep. Tony Gonzales, whose district includes much of the Big Bend region, has not responded to multiple requests for comment from Marfa Public Radio over the past week.
Tyler Priest, a local backpacking guide and former park ranger, penned an Op-Ed on substack this week calling for the defense of the Big Bend’s beloved state and national parks. Priest referred to the border wall plans as “intentionally quiet and opaque” and said he’s “sounding the alarm and rallying defenders.”
“We are standing on the brink of an environmental disaster, an archaeological disaster, a wildlife disaster, a cultural disaster, a recreational disaster, a tourism disaster, a dark skies disaster, a quality of life disaster, an aesthetic disaster and a regional economic disaster all rolled into one ugly steel curtain set to be unfurled across the Big Bend,” he wrote.
The advocacy group National Parks Conservation Association, which has recently advocated to expand the park’s boundary near Terlingua, among other measures, slammed the border wall plans in a statement Wednesday.
“Customs and Border Protection already maintains a presence in Big Bend, given its status as a borderland park, and the current system is not presenting undue burdens on the park,” Cary Dupuy, the group’s Texas regional director, said. “Building a wall here makes no logistical sense and only serves to harm the region’s wild scenery and thriving community-based tourism economy.”
This story has been updated.
Marfa Public Radio’s Travis Bubenik contributed reporting.
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