Donald Trump's plans to build a new border wall through aTexasnature reserve have sparked fury from campaigners. TheUS president's administration has put forward proposals for the so-called smart wall on Big Bend National Park's southern edge, extending from Southern California to the Gulf of Mexico. Outlines of the project shared by US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) show a 175-mile construction equipped with cameras, lights and detection technologies, and lay out ambitions to eventually extend the wall across the entirety of the US-Mexicoborder.
In a press release, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said the wall will help to secure the nation's borders, but critics have warned that part of it will be built inside the national park, requiring US officials to override 28 federal environmental laws. The planned waivers include the Endangered Species Act, the National Environmental Policy Act and the Clean Water Act.
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Cary Dupuy, regional director of the National Parks Conservation Association, called the proposal "devastating".
He added: "Building a border wall through Big Bend National Park would choke off vital wildlife migration routes, intensify flooding risks, and inflict irreparable damage to one of our country's most iconic national parks.
"We need to look for border solutions that are as unique as our landscapes and communities. And we must ensure the solutions we find don't destroy the national treasures we've committed to protecting."
Local archeologist David Keller, also hit out at the "military industrialisation of one of the last great unspoiled places left in the United States".
He toldInside Climate News: "One of our most beloved national parks and the largest park in Texas will be scarred beyond repair."
Source: Daily Express :: World Feed
