Page 5 - ARUBA TODAY

A5
U.S. NEWS Wednesday 15 May 2019
Border wall to go up in national monument, wildlife refuge

By ASTRID GALVAN and
NOMAAN MERCHANT
Associated Press
PHOENIX (AP) — The U.S.
government plans on re-
placing barriers through
100 miles (161 kilometers)
of the southern border in
California and Arizona, in-
cluding through a national
monument and a wildlife
refuge, according to doc-
uments and environmental
advocates.
The Department of Home-
land Security on Tuesday
again waived environmen-
tal and dozens of other
laws to build more barriers
along the U.S.-Mexico bor-
der.
Funding will come from
the Defense Department
following the emergency
declaration that President
Donald Trump signed this
year after Congress refused
to approve the amount of This Feb. 17, 2006 file photo shows the international border line made up of bollards: irregular, concrete-filled steel poles, seperating
border wall funding he re- Mexico, left from the United States, in the Organ Pipe National Monument near Lukeville, Ariz.
quested. Associated Press
Barriers will go up at Organ
Pipe Cactus National Mon- over half the park was stalled. The Center for Bio- construction equipment to it didn’t stop money from
ument, a vast park named closed to the public. But il- logical Diversity says the destroy a mix of trees, in- going to wall construction
after the unique cactus legal crossings in that area plans total about 100 miles cluding mesquite, mulberry in other refuge lands, nor
breed that decorates it, dropped off significantly in (160 kilometers) of southern and hackberry. Those trees did it stop the government
and Cabeza Prieta Nation- the past several years, and border in both Arizona and protect birds during the on- from building in otherwise
al Wildlife Refuge, which is the government in 2015 re- California, near Calexico going nesting season. exempted land due to
largely a designed wilder- opened the entire monu- and Tecate. According to plans pub- the emergency declara-
ness home to 275 wildlife ment for the first time in 12 In Arizona, construction will lished last year, the cleared tion, said Marianna Trevino
species. The government years. While Arizona has focus on four areas of the land will be filled in and a Wright, the butterfly cen-
will also build new roads seen an increase in border border and will include the concrete wall will be in- ter’s director.
and lighting in those areas crossers over the last year, replacement of waist-high stalled, with bollards mea- “They’re going to have to
in Arizona. most are families who turn fencing meant to stop cars suring 18 feet (5.5 meters) protect us in every single
Environmental advocates themselves in to Border Pa- with 18- to 30-foot (9-meter) installed on top. spending bill going for-
who have sued to stop the trol agents. The number of barriers that will be more After months of public out- ward, and they have to
construction of the wall say drugs that agents seize in efficient at stopping illegal cry, Congress forbade U.S. protect us against the state
this latest plan will be det- the state has also dropped crossings. Customs and Border Pro- of emergency,” Wright
rimental to the wildlife and significantly. The government has al- tection from building in the said. “And this administra-
habitat in those areas. But the government is mov- ready demolished refuge nearby Santa Ana wildlife tion has made it clear ...
“The Trump administra- ing forward with more bor- land in the Rio Grande refuge or the nonprofit Na- that they don’t want any
tion just ignored bedrock der infrastructure. Valley of Texas and con- tional Butterfly Center. But exemptions.”q
environmental and public The waivers the depart- struction is set to begin any
health laws to plow a disas- ment issued Tuesday are day. On one section of the
trous border wall through vague in their description Lower Rio Grande Valley
protected, spectacular of where and how many National Wildlife Refuge,
wildlands,” said Laiken Jor- miles of fencing will be in- crews have used heavy
dahl, who works on border
issues at the Center for Bio-
logical Diversity.
The Department of Home-
land Security did not im-
mediately respond to a
request for comment but
has typically not said much
about construction plans.
At Organ Pipe Cactus Na-
tional Monument, row af-
ter row of cactuses dec-
orate 516 square miles
(1,336-square kilometers)
of land that once saw so
much drug smuggling that