...Construction is occurring mostly on public, often protected lands, because the Department of Homeland Security has sweeping powers to waive environmental protection laws, like the Endangered Species Act, which would otherwise bar construction.
Protected lands “belong to the government because they are so unique and fragile. Because of that same fact, they are being demolished,” said Laiken Jordahl, borderlands campaigner for the Center for Biological Diversity, noting the relative ease of border wall construction on public lands compared with the lengthy process of taking private property....
The Rio Grande Valley has been a beautiful legacy for the USA. The Ocelots are rare and endangered (click here). There simply is no reason for the destruction of precious habitat and species. It is unfortunate there was no planning so much as making the border a political icon and a profit for companies that are not normally involved with these lands.
Known as the lower Rio Grande Valley, (click here) the lower four counties of Texas contain a documented 1,200 plants, 300 butterflies, and approximately 700 vertebrates, of which at least 520 are birds. It is to protect this important biodiversity that the Lower Rio Grande Valley National Wildlife Refuge was established.
"The Strange Case of Fisher Sand and Gravel and the Border Wall" (click here)
