The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has allowed a temporary pause on border construction projects in the Big Bend region of Texas to expire, clearing the way for work on one project to resume while officials consider scaling back a separate proposal affecting Big Bend National Park. Federal court filings from September 29 show U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) will lift its pause on ground-disturbing activities for the Big Bend 2 project beginning September 30.
That project calls for approximately 61 miles of border barrier system in Presidio County and is separate from the Big Bend 4 project that includes land within and east of Big Bend National Park. Clara Bensen, board member with Conserve Big Bend and director of communications for the No Big Bend Wall initiative, told Newsweek: "A massive man camp and laydown site about 30 minutes north of the park has rows of bulldozers parked and waiting. We've seen steady construction mobilization.
It's obvious they plan to begin construction again. "That being said, midterms are four weeks out, and this is a very unpopular move in much of Texas. The DHS may try to delay more bad PR until we see where politics land in November.
So many people have a deep personal connection to this landscape—and that includes people who have deep roots in this region, newer residents, and folks who have been visiting their whole life. Watching it get torn up for no good reason is maddening. Because the local economy depends on tourism and farmers and ranchers depend on river access, the destruction also endangers many livelihoods." For Big Bend 4, CBP is considering changes that would "reduce its scope and avoid or minimize potential impacts" after receiving input from the National Park Service and other stakeholders, according to the government's September 29 filing in Friends of the Ruidosa Church v.
The filing says ground-disturbing activity will not begin immediately in the Big Bend 4 project area, either because the pause has expired or once a revised project is approved. The government said several additional weeks would likely be needed for contract administration, equipment and personnel to remobilize and other planning. Conservation groups challenging the administration's plans are due back in federal court Friday, where several plaintiffs are seeking a preliminary injunction to halt construction.
Bob Krumenaker, chair of Keep Big Bend Wild and superintendent of Big Bend National Park from 2018 to 2023, told Newsweek that whether a scaled-back project addresses conservation concerns "depends entirely on what they will do." He said the group would not object to CBP relying on existing roads and technology similar to what is already used in the park. "If it’s a significantly scaled back project and if they truly take into account stakeholder views…it might not be a big problem," Krumenaker said. "But they've not solicited public input, and they've done nothing to earn our trust." Newsweek has contacted CBP and DHS for comment via email and is awaiting responses.
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