Much of border wall to be built on refuge land

About 60 to 75 percent of the Rio Grande Valley’s protected lands and refuges could see direct or indirect impacts from a proposed border fence, a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service spokeswoman said Wednesday.

Officials at the Valley’s wildlife refuges have seen recently released maps detailing where fragments of a border fence are likely to be placed, and a significant portion of the fencing could end up on or near refuge land, said Nancy Brown, public outreach specialist for the South Texas Refuge Complex.

“Even if it’s next to the (refuge) property, it would still affect us,” Brown said. “It could affect migratory patterns of animals and become a safety issue for our staff.”

If firefighters had to douse a fire on refuge land, for example, a fence could impede the firefighters’ escape, she said.

Newer versions of U.S. Customs and Border Protection maps outlining where the fence is likely to be built were made public Monday, when the agency announced that it is conducting an environmental impact study on the project. The longest stretches of fence are in Starr and Cameron counties, according to the map.

Customs and Border Protection officials have said these designs could change in coming months.

Defenders of Wildlife, which has joined several other local and nationwide environmental groups to oppose the border fence, has released its own map combining current data on fence placement with a map of the Valley’s refuge lands.

According to this map, several of the fence’s fragments would crisscross or run adjacent to tracts belonging to the Lower Rio Grande Valley National Wildlife Refuge.

The longest stretch of fence — 17 miles on the southern border of Brownsville — would barricade Sabal Palm Audubon Center and Sanctuary behind it, according to the map.

Lower Rio Grande Valley National Wildlife Refuge consists of scattered parcels of land along 275 miles of the Rio Grande. U.S. Fish and Wildlife purchased this land in an attempt to preserve a “wildlife corridor” on the river. The Sabal Palm Sanctuary consists of 557 acres of rare palms and native trees.

Environmental advocates said they were disheartened to see these latest plans.

“The fence is going to be bad for the refuge and for wildlife,” said Jim Chapman, president of the Lower Rio Grande Valley Group of the Sierra Club. “Our biggest concern is that it’s a barrier to animals, keeping them from crossing to the river. It’s likely to impact endangered and non-endangered species.”

Environmental groups are concerned that animals will lose access to fresh water from the Rio Grande and the ability to migrate to other habitat. Birds and butterflies also could suffer from habitat loss if Customs and Border Protection clears large swaths of native plants, groups have said.

It might be too soon, however, to worry that the fence will hurt wildlife and habitat, said Jimmy Paz, manager of the Sabal Palm Audubon Center and Sanctuary.

“What (customs officials) said yesterday isn’t in accordance with what they said today or what they’ll say tomorrow,” Paz said. “We don’t know how big a fence they’ll build, or what kind of fence. It could be a fence that’s conducive to wildlife … I can’t say that anybody knows what kind of impact it’s going to have.”

Refuge officials have met with the Border Patrol and are hopeful they’ll have a say in the fence’s design, Brown said.

“We’ve been discussing the different types of fencing and are trying to soften the impact to wildlife,” she said. “We’ve encouraged the use of technology (rather than physical fencing), and they were receptive, although they said there were some areas … that were non-negotiable.”

Customs and Border Protection officials will take into account public concerns in its environmental impact statement, said Mike Friel, an agency spokesman. The agency is required to conduct this assessment under the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969.

“Environmental assessments are a factor in our decision-making process,” Friel said.

The agency is seeking public comments for the assessment until Oct. 15. Comments can be submitted by mail, e-mail, fax or on the Web until that date.

Environmental advocates said they would continue making their concerns known.

“We’re hoping the Department of Homeland Security can use alternate methods of securing the border,” Chapman said. “We’re expecting them to listen to our comments.”

Public comments on the border fence

To submit a comment for the U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s environmental-impact statement on the border fence, take any of the following steps:

— Electronic comments to www.borderfenceNEPA.com;

— E-mail comments to RGVcomments@borderfenceNEPA.com;

— Mail comments to: Rio Grande Valley Tactical Infrastructure EIS, c/o e2M, 2751 Prosperity Avenue, Suite 200, Fairfax, VA 22031;

— Fax comments to 757-282-7697.