The beautiful San Bernardino National Wildlife Refuge in Arizona by USFWS
On Tuesday, December 10th, a federal judge in El Paso, Texas blocked the Trump Administration from using more than $3.5 billion in military construction appropriations to build new border walls in national wildlife refuges and elsewhere at the U.S.-Mexico border. The nationwide injunction will halt projects, including the construction of more than 31 miles of unnecessary and destructive border wall across refuges like the Cabeza Prieta National Wildlife Refuge in Arizona.
Colorful Vermillion flycatcher (Pyrocephalus obscurus) at Buenos Aires National Wildlife Refuge in Arizona by USFWS
The fight is not over. Despite an October 11th ruling that found the President’s declaration of a national emergency at the southern border was illegal and yesterday’s ruling that blocked the transfer of funding away from military construction projects to build Trump's wall, there is little doubt that the Administration is gearing up for appeals and will employ any means necessary to build a wall across sensitive environmental areas and through communities that have made it clear they do not want a wall.
A 2019 camera trap capture of an Ocelot kitten at Laguna Atascosa National Wildlife Refuge in Texas close to the U.S.-Mexico border by USFWS
The National Wildlife Refuge Association is opposed to border wall construction at border refuges such as Cabeza Prieta NWR, Santa Ana NWR, San Bernardino NWR, Lower Rio Grande Valley NWR, and Buenos Aires NWR. In a statement responding to yesterday’s injunction, Geoffrey L. Haskett, President of the National Wildlife Refuge Association said “The Administration has once again been blocked by the rule of law. While this is a victory for national wildlife refuges, we know this will not be their last attempt and we stand ready to defend national wildlife refuges from an Administration that is destroying the natural heritage of public lands along our southern border.”
You can support our efforts to defend these wildlife refuges by signing up here to receive the latest advocacy alerts and wildlife refuge news from the National Wildlife Refuge Association. Please also consider donating so that we can continue working to protect all national wildlife refuges.