On November 10, the Arizona Daily Star reported on a land swap at Buenos Aires National Wildlife Refuge in south central Arizona, as the Department of Homeland Security rushes to build a border wall that is proving to be controversial, not only for its impact on important habitat but also for its impact on local communities.

Buenos Aires NWR will have to give up 5.8 acres of habitat along the Mexico border so the federal government can complete a seven-mile section of the border wall. In exchange, the DHS will give the refuge adjacent land that is supposedly of similar value.

But Matt Clark, of the Defenders of Wildlife, was troubled with the way in which the swap was conducted:

“Because this land exchange has not occurred yet and construction of this wall has already begun,” Clark said, “they are currently constructing the wall across national wildlife refuge lands without a finalized compatibility determination…Not only have they not identified the lands, the exchange hasn’t occurred … and now they’re constructing, which means that they are putting the cart before the horse,” he said.

When acting refuge manager Sally Gall was asked about the impact of the wall on vulnerable species such as the endangered jaguar, the lesser long-nosed bat, and the cactus ferruginous pygmy owl:

Gall said there has not been enough study to look at the long-term impacts on wildlife, “but we all know that barriers can’t be good for them.”

Representatives of Defenders of Wildlife fear that with the rush to build the wall — along with the ability that Congress has given to political officials to waive all environmental laws during construction — that more land swaps could be forced on wildlife refuges. In addition, eminent domain takings by the government will also likely proceed as the push for the wall continues, with very little time being given to determining its true impact on wildlife habitat and communities.

Due to the political volatility of the immigration debate on Capitol Hill, few in Congress seem willing to stand up for refuge habitat and any effort to ensure the wall is built in a responsible or thoughtful way.

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wildlife, wildlife refuge, conservation, border, Buenos Aires, Arizona