Seven former superintendents of Big Bend National Park are expressing “grave concerns” with the Trump administration’s plan for new border barriers, roads and surveillance technology in the park, describing the plan as “unnecessary and highly destructive.”
The group of superintendents – whose collective tenure at the park dates back to the 1980s – sent a letter Thursday to Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin, urging him not to waive federal environmental laws for the project, as the administration has done in other parts of the Big Bend region.
“The diminishment of the area’s wild character, impeded access to the Rio Grande for recreation, and loss of opportunities to experience the darkest night sky in the nation if the infrastructure were lighted, would cause tremendous damage to the area’s economy, which is highly dependent upon tourism,” the group wrote.
The Department of Homeland Security has in recent months waived a wide range of environmental laws to speed up border walls and related infrastructure in parts of the greater Big Bend region.
So far, those waivers have not impacted the national park, where U.S. Customs and Border Protection says it’s planning to install new vehicle barriers, patrol roads and surveillance technology infrastructure along the Rio Grande. DHS last week awarded a $1.7 billion contract for the national park project to an Albuquerque construction firm.
In Thursday’s letter, the former superintendents argued the administration does not need to bypass environmental laws for the project, in part because of the national park’s long track record of collaborating with border security agencies.
“If Customs and Border Protection would engage the public, local elected officials, sheriffs, and the National Park Service, we are absolutely confident that we can find a solution to realistically improve border security at a reasonable cost to the taxpayer,” the letter said. “But if you issue a waiver, that will not be possible.”
DHS, CBP and the National Park Service did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the letter.
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