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Defenders Magazine
Defenders in Action: Border Bill Fences in Wildlife
San Diego to keep out illegal immigrants will
also impede wild creatures that move between
countries.
Conservationists are concerned that federal efforts to erect a 700-mile fence to stop illegal immigrants from crossing the U.S.-Mexico border could harm sensitive wildlife species in the Sonoran Desert that migrate between the two countries.
At least 47 endangered species, including jaguars and ocelots, live near the border. "This legislation will absolutely end jaguar recovery in the United States and has the potential to harm dozens of other native Sonoran desert species," says Jenny Neeley, Defenders’ southwest representative in Tucson.
Legislation signed by President Bush in October calls for the construction of a double-layer pedestrian fence in parts of California, New Mexico and Texas, and virtually the entire Arizona border. The Arizona border is lined with federally protected lands including national wildlife refuges, national monuments and wilderness areas. "Border security is critical, but we do not need to sacrifice some of the most pristine and intact wildlife habitat in the nation to achieve it," says Neeley.
Viable alternatives, such as lower-impact vehicle barriers and high-tech "virtual fencing," have already proved extremely effective at stopping illegal incursions in remote protected areas such as Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument in Arizona. "Unfortunately, this bill completely ignores years of collaborative efforts between land managers and the border patrol, who have already spent millions of dollars planning more appropriate infrastructure in sensitive border areas," Neeley adds.
Defenders is working in the borderlands and in Washington, D.C., to educate decision makers and the public about the impacts of illegal immigration and border security activities on wildlife and habitat. For more information, see Defenders’ report On the Line: The Impacts of Immigration Policy on Wildlife and Habitat in the Arizona Borderlands, which is available in English and Spanish at Wildlife and Border Policy.
