President Trump’s controversial border wall could spell doom for a crown jewel of our national wildlife system. As reported by the Texas Observer, for the past six months, private contractors and U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials have been quietly preparing to build the first section of the border wall within the Santa Ana Wildlife Refuge. Located along the Texas–Mexico border in the Rio Grande Valley, the 2,088-acre refuge is one of North America’s top birding destinations and home to the endangered ocelot. Construction plans, which could begin as early as January 2018, include an 18-foot concrete levee topped with a fence made of steel bollards, a new road running parallel to the wall, and clearing on both sides of the wall to allow for surveillance cameras and light towers. And the billion-dollar question of who will pay for it? Well, the refuge’s wildlife for starters.
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