Environmental Impact of U.S.-Mexico Border Fence By Hannah
Legatzke
Slide 2
The Wall Three major pieces of legislation for the construction
of the wall: Operation Hold the Line (Texas), Operation Gatekeeper
(California) and Operation Safeguard (Arizona) There is over 600
miles of fencing between the U.S. and Mexico
Slide 3
Slide 4
A Sensitive Environment The border wall cuts across national
parks, forests, wildlife refuges, and wilderness areas, including:
Organ Pipe National Monument Buenos Aires National Wildlife Refuge
Coronado National Forest Big Bend National Park Tijuana River
National Estuarine Research Reserve
Slide 5
How the Wall Has Environmental Impact Infringes wildlife
habitat and blocks migratory routes Causes flooding, erosion, and
sedimentation problems Wall can act as a dam Construction of the
wall requires building new roads Can cause the introduction of
invasive species Channels human migration to more remote areas
Plant matter gets caught in the fence which can prevent water from
getting through and causes floods Litter left behind by migrants in
environmentally sensitive regions
Slide 6
Impact on Water Flows The wall affects the flow of water in the
desert environment of the Southwest: The wall causes changes in the
pattern of sedimentation, and might cause the San Pedro River, one
of the last free-flowing rivers in the Southwest to shift Wall
caused accelerated erosion at Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument A
barrier in an underground drainage tunnel in Nogales caused
flooding in Mexico that killed two people and damaged $8 million
worth of property and infrastructure Isolates the wetlands of Rio
Bosque Wetlands Park
Slide 7
Slide 8
How the Wall Impacts Animals Fragments habitat Places
additional ecological stress on areas that have already lost much
of their native vegetation Artificial lighting affects behavior of
nocturnal animals confuses migratory birds, causing them to collide
Animals may be killed by vehicles on roads along the border
Separates populations The ocelot, of which fewer than 50 live in
the U.S., is separated from the larger and more genetically diverse
population in Mexico Large animals like coyotes and bobcats do not
fit through the fence
Slide 9
Endangered Species Many threatened and endangered species live
in the borderlands 4000 plant species are native to the borderlands
Affects the habitat of 85 endangered species of plants and animals
Border Patrol estimates that 39 species have been affected in
Arizona Species most at risk: Arroyo toad California red- legged
frog Black-spotted newt Pacific pond turtle Jaguarundi
Slide 10
More Species at Risk Gray wolves Jaguar Bighorn Sheep Pronghorn
Antelope
Slide 11
Laws and the Wall The Department of Homeland Security waived 36
laws for the construction of the wall including the Endangered
Species Act and National Environment Policy Act (NEPA) Waiving NEPA
meant that less study was done on the potential environmental
impact of the wall
Slide 12
The Debate Supporters of the wall argue that it is necessary to
stop illegal immigration and drug trafficking Critiques of the wall
argue that the wall does not stop illegal immigration and drug
trafficking and/ or it is too costly in terms of economic cost,
environmental impact, and human rights ignored because of the wall
The Problem The walls success at stopping illegal immigration will
only be known after it is constructed.
Slide 13
Meanwhile The wall will continue to negatively impact the
environment The wall is immensely costly The government spent $2.4
billion dollars on 670 miles of fence between 2006 and 2009 (~3.58
million per mile) The wall funnels migrants away from urban areas
to more remote areas of the desert where there are increased risks
of exposure and hundreds of people die every year trying to cross
the border
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Questions?
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Sources Arroyo Toad. Digital image. CalPhotos. N.p., n.d. Web.
27 Feb. 2015.. Deer Stopped by Border Wall. Digital image. ** NO
BORDER WALL **. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 Feb. 2015.. Eriksson, Linday,
and Melinda Taylor. The Environmental Impacts of the Border Wall
Between Texas and Mexico (n.d.): n. pag. Web. 27 Feb. 2015..
Fellers, G. California Red-legged Frog Photo Gallery. Digital
image. California Red-legged Frog Photo Gallery. U.S. Geological
Surver, 12 Apr. 2011. Web. 27 Feb. 2015.. Gaskill, Melissa. "United
States Border Fence Threatens Wildlife." Nature 452 (2011): n. pag.
Nature.com. Nature Publishing Group, 2 Aug. 2011. Web. 27 Feb.
2015.
http://www.nature.com/news/2011/110802/full/news.2011.452.htmlhttp://www.nature.com/news/2011/110802/full/news.2011.452.html
Hider, James, and Mexico City. U.S.-Mexico-World's Busiest Border.
Digital image. BBC News. BBC, 16 May 2006. Web. 27 Feb. 2015..
Hood, Tom. Groups United by Desire to Clean up Border Trash.
Digital image. Desert News. N.p., 4 May 2011. Web. 27 Feb. 2015..
Jaguarundi Facts | Big Cat Rescue. Digital image. Big Cat Rescue.
Big Cat Rescue Corporation, 11 May 2013. Web. 27 Feb. 2015.. Nafis,
Gary. Black-spotted Newt - WildEarth Guardians. Digital
image.WildEarth Guardians. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Feb. 2015.. New
Border Walls Designed to Flood Texas Towns - The Texas Observer.
Digital image. The Texas Observer. N.p., 11 July 2012. Web. 27 Feb.
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Ribas. DNews. N.p., 8 July 2009. Web. 27 Feb. 2015.. Operation
Gatekeeper." Operation Gatekeeper. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 Feb.
2015..
Slide 16
Pike, John. "Homeland Security." US-Mexico Border Fence / Great
Wall of Mexico. N.p., 2015. Web. 27 Feb. 2015.. Pike, John.
"Military." Operation Gatekeeper / Operation Hold-the-Line /
Operation Safeguard. N.p., 2015. Web. 27 Feb. 2015.. Roig-Franzia,
Manuel. "Mexico Calls U.S. Border Fence Severe Threat to
Environment." Washington Post. The Washington Post, 16 Nov. 2007.
Web. 27 Feb. 2015.. "Damage Caused by the Border Wall." Sierra
Club, n.d. Web. 27 Feb. 2015.. Schlyer, Krista. PHOTOS: Animals
Stopped in Their Tracks by Border Wall?Digital image. National
Geographic. National Geographic Society, 28 Oct. 2010. Web. 28 Feb.
2015.. "Sierra Club Border Policy Campaign." Arizona Sierra Club
Border Pages, Solutions. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 Feb. 2015.. Western
Pond Turtle. Digital image. Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 16
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