A Wall Has No Place in the Sky Islands
The wall being constructed at the U.S.-Mexico border has cut through the heart of the Sky Islands, causing enormous environmental destruction — endangering springs, damaging waterways like the San Pedro River, and stopping wildlife in their tracks. It’s also harming public lands, Indigenous lands and culture, local communities, human rights, and civil liberties.
This goes against everything we stand for at Sky Island Alliance, with our mission to protect and connect the region’s landscapes, people, and wildlife for the benefit of all. Read on to learn more about what we’re doing to protect our borderlands from this threat.
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Here’s what we’re doing to protect our Sky Islands from the border wall:
- Studying borderlands wildlife and ecosystems and sharing that vital information with the public and policymakers;
- Advocating for new border policies to reinstate laws and stop wall building; and
- Working to restore wildlife pathways and waterways across the border.
Explore this page to learn more about the U.S.-Mexico border wall, law waivers that have enabled its construction, local impacts, and how you can join our crucial work.
Photo by Frank Staub/Lighthawk.
The federal governmental has been developing U.S.-Mexico border infrastructure since the early 1990s.
In 2005, Congress passed the Real ID Act, allowing the Department of Homeland Security to waive any legal requirements necessary to develop border infrastructure and security. As of 2021, 84 environmental and other federal laws and statutes have been waived to accelerate border wall construction.
On Jan. 20, 2021, after wall construction had pushed across the borderlands in several border states, President Joe Biden issued a proclamation that paused all border barrier construction until the sources of funding and contracts for the wall were reviewed.
In Arizona the Department of Defense funding to continue the large border wall construction projects has ended. Mitigation funding is pending appropriation in Congress. While long-term restoration of border habitat is not yet happening, the Department of Homeland Security has authorized U.S. Customs and Border Protection to begin short-term remediation projects along the Arizona border.
The federal government has been developing U.S.-Mexico border wall infrastructure since the early 1990s. In 2005 Congress passed the Real ID Act, which allows the Department of Homeland Security to waive any local, state, or federal laws to build border infrastructure. To date at least 84 environmental laws have been ignored — along with other laws and statutes, including ones protecting Native cultural resources.
On Jan. 20, 2021, after years of accelerating wall construction under the Trump administration, President Biden issued a proclamation pausing all activity until funding and contracts were reviewed — but some wall construction has continued in Texas.
The Biden administration returned funds to the Department of Defense that had been illegally diverted to build border wall in Arizona. Despite the incredible need for restoration at the border, no money for it has been approved by Congress, and the details of U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s pending remediation plan remain unclear. While long-term habitat restoration at the border isn’t yet happening, Homeland Security has authorized CBP to begin short-term remediation projects in Arizona. The situation is ongoing and still developing.
Latest News
May 10, 2022: Along with 103 diverse organizations, Sky Island Alliance signed a letter to Congress, urging it to oppose border wall funding in its Department of Homeland Security appropriations for FY2023. We specifically asked that any existing border wall funds be rescinded and that money set aside in the future be used to begin the process of healing the borderlands. Local communities and wildlife have suffered from careless border wall construction, and it’s up to Congress to rectify this mistake.
April 6, 2022: CBP provided some info about its Border Barrier Remediation Plan for Tucson Sector via webinar on April 4, 2022. Much remains unshared with the public. However agency representatives confirmed that 25 gaps in the wall in southeast Arizona will be closed. While locations weren’t specified, they did say wall closures would occur only in small gaps (<150 feet in width) where planned gates weren’t completed during the last phase of construction. This means that the Santa Cruz River isn’t one of these gaps and should remain unwalled under the current plan. The remediation work will be paid for with congressional funds from 2020. CBP is reaching out to constructors to solicit bids now (via requests that aren’t yet public), and construction work is likely to begin in a few months.
Read our full list of border wall updates here.
- It has reduced the number of wildlife migration corridors, separating animals from food, habitat, and their core populations in the U.S. and Mexico. The wall especially hurts large mammals, low-flying birds, and endangered species like jaguars, ocelots, and Mexican gray wolves.
- At least 60 new roads were graded for border patrol and for access to construction sites. In the process a lot of water was wasted to keep dust down. Cacti, trees, and other plants were bulldozed and removed. And vehicle traffic created noise and light pollution that disturbed wildlife.
- Water was pumped from underground aquifers and springs to mix with concrete for the wall, and sections were built across waterways like the San Pedro River, which dammed certain places or reduced flow. This harm to our rivers and aquifers is especially devastating during times of drought.
- New border lighting disrupted nocturnal species that rely on the cover of darkness to travel and hunt. Through our Border Wildlife Study, we’ve found that a majority of all mammal sightings occurred between sunset and sunrise, and half of the mammal species we’ve photographed have only been seen at night.
- Indigenous communities and Tribal lands have been harmed by the border wall. Barrier construction has disturbed or destroyed graves and cultural sites and infringes on Native sovereignty. Sacred lands and springs were torn apart by road grading and wall construction without meaningful consultation. Learn more about why the Tohono O’odham Nation opposes the wall.
- Global Inequities and Political Borders Challenge Nature Conservation Under Climate Change
- Nature Divided, Scientists United: U.S.–Mexico Border Wall Threatens Biodiversity and Binational Conservation
- A Wall in the Wild
- Potential Effects of the United States-Mexico Border Fence on Wildlife
How the Wall Harms the Sky Islands
At least 84 federal and state laws and regulations, including the Endangered Species Act and the National Environmental Protection Act, were waived to advance border wall construction in California, Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas.
Oak trees bulldozed near the border to make room for construction equipment.
Here are just a few ways the wall is doing specific harm:
Key Articles
