Believe In America.com

iamme · Joined: 24 Jun 2006 Posts: 333 Location: TEXAS

Commentary: The planned border wall will disrupt natural migration
By Michael Finkelstein
August 24, 2006
It's a sad time for America.
In 1987, President Reagan stood before the Berlin Wall and stated, "Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall." But, less than 20 years later, President Bush and Congress are moving to build a new Berlin Wall on the U.S.-Mexico border.
This massive triple wall on 370 miles of the U.S.-Mexico border, including in New Mexico, is a colossal environmental disaster.
Walls will block wildlife movement corridors and severely harm natural landscapes and rivers along our fragile southern border. The only living things the walls won't stop are people.
It's a moral low-point for America when our government moves to destroy nature and wall us off from a friendly neighbor.
Border triple walls and more militarization will be a giant hit to endangered species and habitat, such as jaguar and Mexican gray wolves in New Mexico; the cactus pygmy owl and Sonoran pronghorn in Arizona; flat-tailed horned lizard and peninsular ranges bighorn sheep in California; and the Rio Grande ocelot, in Big Bend National Park, in Texas.
Endangered species need to cross their borderland habitat often, and triple walls will crush their ability to survive and recover.
A more reasonable alternative is wildlife-friendly vehicle barriers such as the one at Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument in Southern Arizona.
The Senate has approved 461 miles of vehicle barriers, but it is not known if a wildlife-friendly design will be used.
As federal enforcement intensifies, a key focus should be wildlife-friendly vehicle barriers in strategic and at-risk places on the border in Southern New Mexico, such as the Coronado National Forest; the Animas, Playas and Hachita Valleys and the Big Hatchet, Alamo Hueco, Cedar and Potrillo Mountains.
Once the vehicle barriers are in place, agents should patrol in trucks only on roads right on the border or outside designated wilderness areas and elsewhere on horse or foot.
The Organ Pipe barrier has proven effective at stopping smuggling vehicles from entering the United States. However, the Border Patrol is still driving off-road in wilderness areas where vehicles are prohibited, destroying fragile desert habitat and running down wildlife and pedestrian immigrants with Humvees, trucks and off-road vehicles.
Congress and President Bush must stop pushing fear and listen to experienced borderland leaders, like Gov. Bill Richardson, to pass a comprehensive immigration reform bill that will help solve the root causes of illegal immigration.
Desperate migrants who are willing to die to cross into the United States for work will not be stopped by triple walls and more border militarization. Yet, nature's web of life and our important relationship with Mexico will be severely hurt.
America can and must act humanely and do better.
http://www.abqtrib.com/albq/op_commentaries/article/0,2565,ALBQ_19866_4941770,00.html