Hello border wall, goodbye butterflies

The Texas Observer reports that Jeffrey Glassberg, founder of the National Butterfly Center, was surprised to discover workers with chainsaws tearing through a sanctuary for imperiled monarch butterflies in order to build the highly controversial U.S.-Mexico border wall. Glassberg and his wife spent the past 15 years restoring 100 acres into a habitat attractive to hundreds of species of butterflies in this corner of Texas. The Trump administration never notified Glassberg in writing, which is required by law, for its plans crossing his private land. He was particularly distressed by the unauthorized destruction because his wife had died the very same day. The unexpected visit came shortly after news broke that construction for the first segment of the border wall would start in the Santa Ana Wildlife Refuge, 19 miles east of the butterfly center. “On a perfect day you can see 100 different species—as many as 200,000 individual butterflies,” says Glassberg. “It’s a special place. But with all of this going on, it basically endangers the whole thing.”