The Border Fence: An Environmental Disaster

Sadly, the Congress has passed and President Bush has signed the bill providing the worthless 700 mile border fence between the United States and Mexico. Mexican President Vicente Fox, hardly a man I agree with very often, has compared it to the Berlin Wall, which it is. From a political perspective, this is probably a good thing--it's a very visceral reminder to Latinos what the Republican Party thinks of them.

My own concern is for the environmental disaster the fence will entail. Much of the US-Mexico border region is made up of environmentally sensitive areas. Many animals have been persecuted to near extinction in Mexico but a few have crossed the border into the far southern US--the jaguar is one important example. Obviously, this won't affect birds, but it will effect mammals. Cutting off already isolated population pockets is a real good way to drive more species into extinction. South Texas conservationists are concerned about what it will do to restoration projects on the Rio Grande.

The fence will also get wrapped up in international treaties over water issues. Frankly, if push comes to shove I think the US will continue their 160 year old tradition of stealing Rio Grande water from Mexico, but this is far from settled. The fence will slice apart the last wild areas south of San Diego and make animal migration virtually impossible in southeast Texas. Plus, there's a lot of evidence that locals, including Republicans don't want the fence. As one Texas Republican activist put it, ""A wall is just going to stand between farmers and ranchers and others who need legitimate access to water."

Of course Our Lady of Waterboarding Michelle Malkin finds the environmentalist outrage over this laughable.