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By: Melissa Davila Castro Summary: During President Trump's campaign run back in 2016, an infamous line used by his campaign was “Build the Wall”. Since then the border wall has grown to be about 650 miles long but Trump has called for a 1,000 mile long wall. Although the purpose of the wall was to keep people out, unintentionally wildlife has also been affected. Habitats that are important for wildlife have been disrupted along the border line even though Trump's administration has claimed they would provide sustainable practises throughout the building of the wall, Congress has waived the construction on obeying the Endangered Species Act along with several other acts that jeopardize the well being of stable species in the area. Along with this, animals will be cut off from one another therefore limiting breeding which can be detrimental to endangered species and can cause a chain reaction through the food chain of the species that are separated, migration patterns for animal births have been disrupted, light pollution caused from the shading of the wall can mess with the sleeping patterns of nocturnal insects and animals, wildlife refugees will be divided, and tourism money gained from the ecosystem that lives in this area will be lost. Animals that have the ability to fly are also affected by the border wall because the height some of the birds can achieve is not enough to surpass the wall therefore affecting migration and breeding patterns for several different bird species. Although there are small animals that can get through the lower crevices that the wall has put in place in order to combat these wildlife issues, the majority of animals are still negatively affected. Why we should care? We should care about this topic because we are actively damaging environments that we have previously worked to protect. Several Acts have been waived in order to continue with the construction of the wall.  Photo Credit: Matt Clark/ Defenders of Wildlife Example Article. https://www.npr.org/2020/01/14/795215639/border-wall-threatens-national-wildlife-refuge-thats-been-40-years-in-the-making I found this particular article interesting because it shows how the U.S Fish and Wildlife Services has worked to buy land along the Mexico/US border in order to protect the habitats in the area, this area now known as the Lower Rio Grande Valley National Wildlife Refuge has seen population increases in several animals including white-tail deer. Due to the fact that the U.S Fish and Wildlife Services is a federal agency, Trump's organization went after them first in order to acquire land to build on therefore avoiding privately owned land in the area. Along with the U.S taking some of this land to build the wall on, the animals that live in this area are at a higher risk of drowning if the wall is built because the area tends to flood. There is a construction idea to put gates on the wall that will be lifted when the area floods in order to prevent the animals from drowning but the idea is expensive and most likely will not be done. With this, if the idea of a gate on the wall were to be done, animals would still be separated from their water supplies therefore there is no good alternative other then not building the wall. Science in Action.
Dr. Gerardo Ceballos is a Professor of Ecology at the Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico (UNAM). Gerardo Ceballos along with other scientists researched the effects that building a longer border wall will have on the wildlife living in the area. This research consisted of the environmental laws that are being bypassed, the harmful effects that destroying wildlife habitat can have on the animals and land, the limits the wall will create for wildlife research and conservation because the border wall is being build over some endangered species conservation land, and the overall loss of biodiversity from the land that will occur if species are separated. I believe this is relevant to the blog post because it further pushes the narrative that the construction of the border wall is only causing harm to the ecosystem surrounding it and that the efforts that the U.S Fish and Wildlife Services did in order to protect the biodiversity living in this area should be respected and take care of and not be easily ignored like it has been.
13 Comments
Heba M. Chokr
11/2/2020 21:15:18
Over the last couple of years, I have read about Trump's wall being built and how that is affecting thousands of human beings-- but I never imagined of the thousands of wildlife being affected by the wall. This blog post did a great job bringing to light the problem along with the effects and consequences that the wall has on wildlife, migration, and habitats. I find it completely ridiculous that this wall was built with little thought to wildlife and how they would be affected by such a drastic change. I hope that in the near future, there will be more measures taken to ensure the survival of the wildlife near the wall.
Molly McKeon
11/3/2020 18:28:07
We have to turn the focus on protecting wildlife and our planet. The saddest part is that people are not going to care about cactuses, pigs, little mice or other animals. They're only going to care about the big ones and cool looking ones because they are interesting and eye catching. Also, there is something called eminent domain and it is a part of the 5th Amendment. The government can seize privately owned borderland and all they have to do is offer compensation for it; regardless of if the money is taken or not, the government can take that land.
Cassidy Mullins
11/5/2020 12:15:31
It feels in many ways that the protection of the environment is regressing rather than progressing. We should be focusing on how building a border wall on the southern border affects the environment and how (if we build the wall at all) to do it with the least amount of harm as possible. Congress waving them having to follow the Endangered Species Act is very harmful and we could see species extinction down the line due to the wall.
Connor Edelstein
11/6/2020 10:34:42
The thought that we put up walls to prevent any species from migrating, from human to jaguar to saguaro cactus, is very unsettling and depressing. Not only are we preventing migration, we are destroying their habitat in the process of building the wall. I think it is a good example of anthropocentrism, but I also think one could argue that, considering the wall was built by humans to prevent other humans from trying to find a better life. Do the pros really outweigh the cons? Even if the pros did outweigh the cons, is it even worth it for a wall that people can scale? It really makes me question a lot of things. This was very thought provoking.
Mallory Evatz
11/8/2020 10:26:11
You did a great job covering this topic because I had not considered the environmental affects of building the wall. After hearing this though, I am surprised there has not been more done to readdress the issues created by the wall. with this proof, I think we can do more to fix this with the wall already being highly controversial without the environmental affects.
Grace Young
11/9/2020 00:17:19
I have heard a lot about the wall but never this. I think that this should be more widespread information on the consequence of building the wall. I wonder if the benefits of the wall outweigh the negatives. This article definitely makes me want to research and read more about this topic.
Gwendolyn Schmidt
11/16/2020 14:43:55
It's honestly really sad that acts protecting our wildlife are being waived for a boarder wall that is being built out of racism. The wall is ruining ecosystems, killing wildlife daily, and is a money pit being taken from the military funds. It is obvious Trump has never cared about the environment, but the fact that congress is waiving acts and bills that are meant to protect wildlife to flat out kill it is unfathomable. 11/16/2020 18:15:11
It is so sad to see that everyday we continue to harm our wildlife. It was interesting reading this though because I had never thought about the wall harming wildlife. This should be talked about more because it should not continue. It is sad to see that we are doing this to animals.
Ian Hogg
11/16/2020 19:38:41
The Trump administration's policies have no regard for the protection and preservation of our natural landscapes. The border wall fiasco is just one of the many attempts of this administration’s attempt to rid the country of scientifically backed rules and regulations that have been put in place to protect our environment. I have read a several articles that discussed the migratory and overall effects the border wall would have on wildlife populations. Not only is the border wall an expensive and weak solution to the immigration issue here in the United States, it also does try and solve the core of the issue. The mass immigration wea re seeing from Central American countries is only going to become worse due to the effects of climate change. Droughts, hurricanes and other natural disasters will increase because of climate change. The border will not be the solution to problem and the resources for this ineffective legislative project should go elsewhere. I did not know that border wall will affect the sleeping patterns o nearby species. However, after reading this post that fact does make sense. Light pollution is a serious environmental issue here in the United States and this border wall fiasco will just be another contributor to that problem. Overall, I thought this was great article and an important topic to discuss. I wish more people were able to understand the serious effects a border wall has on wildlife populations. Your analysis of this topic was great, and you provided great insight into the issue at hand.
Carlos Rodriguez
11/27/2020 01:05:43
I don't think any thought was given to wildlife and the environment at all when it came to building the wall. I had no idea that such a thing would effect wildlife, in particular some birds. It just goes to say how tall this wall is.
Alex Day
11/30/2020 00:08:40
After hearing about Trump’s wall for so long I sadly never even considered the wildlife harm the wall would cause as well. Also, the fact that the had to waive several endangered species acts is put simply just plain scummy. I hope animals out there are able to adapt to their new circumstances that the wall is inflicting on them and not go extinct.
Zane Hammoud
12/7/2020 20:22:00
It is very sad that us humans make decisions for our own good rather than thinking of the domino effect that we cause throughout the Earth. Humans can do very dangerous things that hurt all life in the long run. We need to stop thinking as if we are the only species on this planet that matters. Our decisions have consequences just like everything else!
Ethan Schiffour
12/15/2020 16:45:02
Very well written article. I had done research before this class on the plan of the wall and how it would affect the species that lived in those regions. The building of the wall would change every part of those species lives and could lead to extinction and endangerment of many species. Although sadly I do not find it surprising, everything about trump's administration has been rolling back environmental policies that puts habitats, species and ecosystems in danger. The world has a problem right now in losing biodiversity and the building of the wall only supports that problem. Leave a Reply. |
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