Reversing the Ecological Damage of Trump’s Border Wall: Activists and States Reach Judicial Agreement with DHS

2023-07-23 07:51:15

Activists and nine US state governments reached a judicial agreement with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to implement measures once morest the ecological damage caused by the border wall.

The work, built during the administration of Donald Trump, divided biological corridors of endangered species and cut the natural channels of rivers and streams.

In the settlement, reached following three years of litigation, DHS agreed to return more than $427 million to the plaintiff states of California, Colorado, Hawaii, Maryland, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Virginia, and Wisconsin.

In addition, it will provide 25 million dollars to California so that environmentalists can buy 485 hectares of land near the border line, and 1.1 million dollars to finance programs to monitor wildlife at risk, such as mule deer, Sonoran pronghorn, Mexican wolves and jaguars.

Erick Meza, Sierra Club border zone coordinator, highlighted in an interview with excelsior that, thanks to the agreement, 24 “windows” of various sizes will be opened to allow the free movement of animals, in addition to the fact that there is a commitment, in writing, not to build another wall. Eight stormwater gates will also open along the US-Mexico border.

For Laiken Jordahl, a campaigner for the Center for Biological Diversity, while this legal victory is worth celebrating, much of the damage caused by the border wall can never be repaired.

WIN BATTLE FOR WILDLIFE; NGO HIT TRUMP’S BORDER WALL

After three years of litigation before the courts, a group of civil society organizations and governments of states such as California and New Mexico reached a judicial agreement with the Department of United States Homeland Security (DHS) to try to reverse the environmental damage caused by the border wall built by Donald Trump.

A deep scar on the border between the United States and Mexico, which divided the biological corridors of endangered species and cut the natural channels of rivers and streams.

In the 65-page resolution, DHS agreed to return more than $427 million in military funds to the claimant states of California, Colorado, Hawaii, Maryland, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Virginia, and Wisconsin.

It will also provide $25 million to California for environmentalists to buy 485 hectares of land near the border and $1.1 million to finance monitoring programs for endangered wildlife such as mule deer, Sonoran pronghorn, Mexican wolves and jaguars.

WALL REMOVAL

In interview with excelsiorErick Meza, coordinator of border areas for the Sierra Club, highlighted that thanks to the legal agreement, 20 small wildlife passages and four large ones will be opened along the wall in California, Arizona, New Mexico and Texas, to allow the free movement of animals, in addition to the fact that there is a written commitment not to build more sections of this steel and concrete barrier along the border.

Some of these windows in the wall built by the Trump administration will be only 21.59 by 27.94 centimeters, to allow the passage of very small species, but in other places these wildlife passages might reach measures of 2.13 by 1.5 meters and in a specific case 2.13 by 5.4 meters, in order to allow them to migrate freely, such as Sonoran pronghorn, mule deer, jaguar, black bear, bison and Mexican wolves. among others.

The activist highlighted that eight stormwater gates will also be permanently opened in the Organ Pipe National Monument in Arizona, which borders the El Pinacate and Gran Desierto de Altar Biosphere Reserve in Sonora, as well as in the San Pedro Riverside Conservation Area and the San Bernardino National Wildlife Refuge, which is also located on the border between Arizona and Sonora, where the Ajos-Bavispe Flora and Fauna Protection Area is located on the Mexican side.

It was established that every month they will give us a report on the remediation actions they are carrying out in these areas, because the agreement also contemplates revegetation in places where roads were opened for the border patrol or served as maneuvering yards and operation of heavy machinery”, he specified.

As part of these restoration works, the Department of Homeland Security agreed to seal off and dismantle all water wells on federal land that were drilled for construction of the wall and are no longer needed for its operation and maintenance.

Erick Meza pointed out that with regard to the emblematic oasis of Quitobaquito, a sacred site for the members of the Tohono O’odham Nation of the United States and Mexico, the section of wall will not be removed, but instead a passage will be opened kilometers ahead where there is a stream that serves as a drinking fountain for wildlife.

The agreement with the Department of Homeland Security that obtained the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU)Coalición de Comunidades de la Frontera Sur y Sierra Club, also provides periodic consultations with representatives of indigenous tribes for the implementation of remediation measures for cultural impacts.

With the construction of the 30-foot-high wall, ordered by Donald Trump, for example, the oasis of Quitobaquito on the Arizona side was trapped, along with graves of Tohono O’odham ancestors and religious sites, on the border between the cities of Lukeville, Arizona, and Sonoyta, Sonora, where federal highway 2 passes.

THE FIGHTING CONTINUES

Consulted by this newspaper, Laiken Jordahl, a campaigner for the Center for Biological Diversity, stressed that the conciliation agreement is a great victory for wildlife and border communities.

The Department of Homeland Security will open sections of the wall for wildlife migration, pay for remediation, and has pledged not to build walls in ecologically important corridors. These are demands we have fought for for years.

While this legal triumph is worth celebrating, we must recognize that much of the damage caused by the border wall can never be repaired. This deal only scratches the surface,” he said.

The activist added that to truly help endangered species and communities impacted by the wall, DHS must tear down the barrier completely, dismantle lights, roads, and restore environmental protection laws in the US-Mexico border areas. “We will not stop fighting until this is over,” he said.

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