Fury as border wall quietly being planned to cut through national parks and wildlife refuge

By LAUREN ACTON-TAYLOR, US NEWS REPORTER Published: 16:39, 19 April 2026 | Updated: 16:45, 19 April 2026 Plans for another stretch of wall across the southern border has sparked fury among environmentalists, as the proposal would tear through more national park and wildlife refuge land.  The construction of the wall in 2019 saw two national park sites in Arizona utilized for their desert land, and now the Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument and Cabeza Prieta National Wildlife Refuge will take another hit as plans for more wall construction have been revealed.  But the plans, which are being quietly pushed ahead by officials, would cause irreparable damage to the nature and limit wildlife migration, environmentalists say.  Russ McSpadden, the southwest conservation advocate for the Center for Biological Diversity, told SFGate: 'These are absolutely beautiful places that were set aside to protect landscapes that you just don’t see anywhere else. 'They’re not as high-profile as some of these other national park sites, but they’re absolutely critical to the people and ecosystems in this area, and anyone who visits can see that they’re special. 'The deep scar of the first wall has already changed the character of the place incredibly, and now we’re contending with the effects of a second wall.' The plans follow President Donald Trump's promise from his first term in 2016 to build a wall stretching 2,000 miles long across the southern border, which has faced numerous roadblocks from those opposing the construction through public land.  Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument already saw a 30ft tall stretch of steel wall, and sporadic sections of barrier crop up across the Cabeza Prieta National Wildlife Refuge.  Environmentalists are in uproar as plans for a second wall through the Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument and Cabeza Prieta National Wildlife Refuge are being quietly pushed through by the Department of Homeland Security  The plans follow President Donald Trump's promise from his first term in 2016 to build a wall stretching 2,000 miles long across the southern border Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument already saw a 30ft tall stretch of steel wall (pictured), and sporadic sections of barrier crop up across the Cabeza Prieta National Wildlife Refuge This year, however, plans to move and cut off the border from even remote sections of land are underway. While such proposals have been staunchly opposed, the Department of Homeland Security is lawfully much more freely able to fast-track such measures following the 9/11 terrorist attacks.  The first major sections of barrier along the southern border cropped up in the 1990s, but were typically discrete and in or near urban locations. However, following the 9/11 attacks, funding significantly increased to around $270 million from $92 million, according to the Migration Policy Institute.  The rise in funding was followed by the 2006 Secure Fence Act, which saw huge increases in border security measures and allowed DHS operation control of near the entire 2,000 mile stretch of border to prevent 'all unlawful entries into the United States' including for the purposes of blocking terrorists, MPI said.  For construction proposals of the border wall through public land, such as through national parks, DHS also has the ability to waive around 50 laws due to the 2005 Real ID Act, SFGate reported.  This includes environmental protection laws such as the Clean Water Act, National Environmental Policy Act, the Endangered Species Act and the Clean Air Act.  The newest proposal to continue updating the southern border wall would see more technological advancement updates to the current wall as well as the construction of a second wall stretching up to 200ft, US Customs and Border Protection documents and comments made by officials to the Washington Post show.  Organ Pipe and Cebza Prieta's second wall would reach around 30ft high as officials have also put forward the idea of installing thousands of LED lights, SFGate reported.   The outlet reported that the plans include potential construction through Indigenous land, including a burial site, as well as a spring offering the only surface water for miles. The newest proposal to continue updating the southern border wall would see more technological advancement updates to the current wall  Organ Pipe and Cebza Prieta's second wall would reach around 30ft high as officials have also put forward the idea of installing thousands of LED lights Eamon Harrity, the wildlife program manager at the conservation nonprofit Sky Island Alliance, told the outlet that placing the wall through the Quitobaquito spring would harm surrounding wildlife by cutting off their only water supply.  Quitobaquito is also home to two endangered species, the Quitobaquito pupfish and Sonoyta mud turtle, which are only found in the area.  Harrity pointed out that previous border wall construction has led to water supplies ceasing to exist, such as in Arizona's San Bernardino National Wildlife Refuge where artesian wells stopped flowing.  The park was forced to install solar-powered pumps to preserve the land, Harrity told the outlet.     'Border wall construction is well documented to suck up a lot of groundwater, and this wall will have dire consequences,' he said.  'The whole system would be negatively impacted, and all the resources and investment that went to protecting and preserving this habitat already would be thrown away.' However, both Harrity and McSpadden recognized the helplessness they felt while the law continues to protect the DHS construction, as opposition can only be made on constitutional grounds, the outlet reported.  One measure that has been made to help with wildlife and their migration has been adding small doors to the wall to help animals get across the southern border.  There has been an average of around 245 apprehensions per day on the Southwest border of people trying to get into America Small doors have also been implemented across the border wall to help animals migrate across the southern border, but the 'doggy doors' faced backlash from environmentalists who branded the effort a 'joke' Wildlands Network researcher Myles Traphagen said the openings are 'the size of your doggy door' and despite being a 'proactive' measure for many animals, they will limit bigger animals from migrating However these 'doggy doors', as they have been nicknamed, have faced backlash from environmentalists who branded the effort a 'joke.' Wildlife experts argued that the 'doors' are too small for larger animals, such as sheep, jaguar and deer, and too infrequent in such a long stretch of fence.  'This has got to be an obscene joke,' Laiken Jordahl, public land and wildlife advocate with Center for Biological Diversity, told the New York Post.  Activists expressed concern over the negative affects on biodiversity and animal resources, including water, food and mates, caused by the wall blocking animals from migrating across the border.  Wildlands Network researchers Christina Aiello and Myles Traphagen recently surveyed the area where new sections of the fence are set to be installed in San Diego and Baja California.  Concerns over the gaps being exploited by migrants looking to illegally cross the border have been raised, while Traphagen claimed that there have been no reports people taking advantage of the gaps.  'We’ve documented no humans ever using them,' he told KTSM El Paso News in a Border Report. 'Sometimes you see people looking at them curious about it, but it’s obvious you’re not going to be able to get through this,' Traphagen said. 'We can't be simply be throwing away all of our biodiversity, natural and cultural history, and heritage to solve a problem we can do more constructively by overhauling our immigration programs, so what we're examining are places where we can suggest mitigation measures like small wildlife openings. Eamon Harrity, the wildlife program manager at the conservation nonprofit Sky Island Alliance, said that placing the wall through the Quitobaquito spring would harm surrounding wildlife by cutting off their only water supply Matthew Dyman, a spokesperson for CBP, claimed that the agency has worked with the National Park Service and other federal agencies to best map out passages for optimal migration routes 'If we extend the border wall completely, those sheep are not going to have an opportunity to go back and forth,' Traphagen added. In a statement, DHS defended the construction with a waiver, signed by former DHS secretary Kristi Noem. It marked the seventh waiver signed by the former secretary for border barrier construction projects along the southern border, according to the statement. 'The secretary's waiver authority allows DHS to waive any legal requirement, including environmental laws such as the National Environmental Policy Act, to ensure the expeditious construction of physical barriers and roads,' the statement added.  'Projects executed under a waiver are critical steps to secure the southern border and reinforce our commitment to border security.' Matthew Dyman, a spokesperson for CBP, claimed to the Post that the agency has worked with the National Park Service and other federal agencies to best map out passages for optimal migration routes.  DHS said in a December release that there were a 'record low' number of 'encounters' at the border across November last year.  The department documented 60,940 total encounters nationwide in October and November, which they claimed was lower than any prior fiscal year to date. Around 245 average apprehensions were recorded per day on the Southwest border.  The Daily Mail reached out to Russ McSpadden, Eamon Harrity, the National Park Service and the Department of Homeland Security for further comment.  No comments have so far been submitted. Why not be the first to send us your thoughts, or debate this issue live on our message boards. By posting your comment you agree to our house rules. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? 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