New England
Seabirds
             
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Last update :
05/13/2008
What is the Texas Fence?
The Rio Grande Valley of Texas is one of the
best locations in the United States or the ABA area for birding.
The riparian habitat along the river ( 95% of which is already
destroyed) regularly attracts birds from Mexico into the ABA
area. Some of these birds have been established and the
valley is the only place to see these birds. In good
years scores of rarities cross the border and become
"countable". Birding in the valley is always fun in good
years and bad.
Along the river are several public birding
areas: Santa Ana National Wildlife Refuge, Bentson State
Park, Anzalduas County Park, Sabal Palm Audubon Refuge, Roma
Bluffs ( World Birding Center ) , San Ignacio ( private
sanctuary maintained by one man for the White-colared Seedeater
), Salinino (where the Dewinns winter and treat birders to
wonderful feeders with Altamira Orioles and Brown Jays).
Now all this is threatened with the Security
Fence, Bush and friends want to build along the river to stop
terrorists. We have no idea what form this fence/wall will
take. It could be a series of security cameras which would
not be too intrusive. Or it could look like the above.
There is very little information available. What are they doing?
Don't we have a right to know?
The Bridges Are Protected
People who have not visited the border perhaps
do not understand that the bridges that cross the river are
protected. The Border Patrol is not in charge of the
bridges. That is the responsibility of "Immigration and
Naturalization" which is also part of "Homeland Security".
Some bridges such as the ones that crossed the river near Big
Bend were closed permanently after 9/11. Other bridges are
secured by armed guards and bus passengers are forced to
disembark and pass through "Customs". Cars, trucks and
buses are regularly searched with dogs and armed guards.
The "Fence" is to protect the areas between the
bridges. There are only certain areas where undocumented
workers and drug smugglers cross the river. Parts of the river
especially above the two dams are very deep and wide.
Other places like below the dam at Anzalduas are so shallow you
can wade across. The Border Patrol knows where these
places are and if they had enough personnel could stop the
crossings. There are 3 roads that leave the valley going
north. The Border Patrol has check points along these
highways. I drove the camper across these check points
several times without ever being questioned or searched.
Why? Because the Border Patrol does not have enough
personnel to run these check points. By the way the camper
was searched crossing the Canadian border and before I was
allowed to drive across Hoover Dam.
And then there are the trains that regularly
cross the border every day and every night. The Border
Patrol must inspect every single box car on these trains twice.
I have watched a single man climbing in and out of the box cars
of a long train. Evading him would have been a simple exercise.
The Border Patrol needs more personnel and more
dogs. "The Fence" is not the answer.
Do We Have A Chance of
Stopping the Texas Fence?
We are not alone in opposing this fence.
The local people of the Rio Grande Valley are unanimous in their
disapproval of the fence for various reasons. This fence
will destroy old towns along the river like San Ygnacio and Salińino.
The people of the valley will be denied access to the river for
boating, fishing and swimming. And most importantly the
business people of the valley think it has already reduced the
number of shoppers from Mexico. I don't see how the threat
of the fence has done this, but if they believe it OK by me.
There are things
they can do that will not destroy the birding in the valley.
They can increase the surveillance by camera and motion
detectors. They can use more Border Patrol agents and
dogs. They could advertise the Border Patrol number to
report suspicious activity.
What Can You
Do ?
Learn about the fence. See
Background information. Please go to
this web site and sign the petition.
http://www.notexasborderwall.com
Write to your congressmen
and congresswomen. Use E-mail. They seem to change their E-mail URLs often so
look them up each time.
http://congress.org/
Background
Information on the Texas Fence
1. The
proposed wall could include:
-
86
miles of physical barrier on National Wildlife Refuges,
State Parks, many other refuges and parks owned by Audubon,
Nature Conservancy and NABA, and private lands along the Rio
Grande between Falcon Dam in Starr County and the Gulf of
Mexico in Cameron County
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Clearing of brush along the river up to 150’ in width where
construction of the wall will take place
-
A road
suitable for driving up to 50 miles per hour along the wall
2. The
proposed wall could affect:
-
Establishment of eminent domain on private lands along the
river for private landowners unwilling to sell
-
Complete prevention of access to the river from the wall,
meaning no access for farmers and ranchers whose livelihoods
depend on the water rights they have purchased
-
No
access for wildlife enthusiasts interested in wildlife
watching, canoeing, kayaking, and hiking along the river.
Eco-tourism brings more than $125 million to the RGV
annually from 200,000 eco-tourists, creating 2,500 jobs in
the local economy
-
Destroying a 25 year effort to restore the river wildlife
corridor. Approximately $70 million has been spent on land
acquisition and $20 million on re-forestation efforts.
Thousands of school children and other volunteers have
planted thousands of native plants and trees. Dozens of
local, state and federal entities and organizations have
partnered to create the Wildlife Corridor
-
Very
rare species of birds and other animals that are only found
in the Rio Grande Valley in the U.S. which are species
highly valued by eco-tourist. I.e.: Brown Jay, Muscovy Duck
-
Both
endangered and threatened species listed by the federal
government and state uses the riparian habitat and would
face possible extinction or extirpation. I.e.: Ocelot,
Jaguarundi,
-
No
access to drinking water for wildlife unable to breach the
wall
-
No
access to habitats across the river (and/or just across the
wall) for wildlife, leaving them in isolated communities
creating genetic gridlock and promoting extirpation and/or
extinction
-
Many
historical and archeological sites with national and
international significance
3.
Border Fence Legislation facts:
-
Section
102 of the 2005 REAL ID Act states: “…the Secretary of
Homeland Security shall have the authority to waive, and
shall waive, all laws such Secretary, in such Secretary
sole’s discretion, determines necessary to ensure
expeditious construction of the barriers and roads under
this section”, which is to say that Secretary of Homeland
Security Michael Chertoff has the power to wave any and all
federal laws, including the Endangered Species Act, National
Environmental Policy Act and more in the name of homeland
security
-
The
Secure Fence Act of 2006 directs Department of Homeland
Security to:
-
Take all actions necessary to achieve and maintain
control over international borders within 18 months.
-
Construct at least two layers of reinforced fencing and
additional physical barriers, roads, cameras, sensors
and lighting on 700 linear miles along specific areas of
the Mexican border.
-
Construct 370 miles of physical fence before the end of
2008, including 153 miles in Texas, 129 in Arizona, and
12 in New Mexico, while California gets 76
From
BirdChat
Just to let everyone know... the environmental community in the
Valley has mustered a huge response and has been working day and
night now since May. When I first posted about this issue about
the border wall on Texbirds in May I invited everyone to join
the fight. Anyone that contacted us down here then is well aware
just how much and how far we have gotten on this issue. I once
again invite all to get involved...now that the "proof" is out
there!!
The coalition in the RGV has raised enough voices to not only
gain local and state press but national and international press
to get this issue in front of people. Enough work has been done
to now have such organizations as Defenders of Wildlife,
Environmental Defense, TNC, Audubon, World Wildlife Fund and
many others join the fight. And some are heavily involved.
We
are working with all local mayors and county judges, TX Border
Coalition, business, farmers, property owners, etc, etc. The
McAllen Chamber is firing on all cylinders. We are holding
rallies, meetings, national press releases, hosting press trips,
congressional visits to the Valley, lobbying on the hill, etc,
etc.
Two web pages are going up very soon, and a list serve is
VERY active. noborderwall@yahoogroups.com Hundreds of folks have
been working feverishly down here with support from national and
international groups. We have gotten many politicians aware of
the issue. A HR bill has been co-sponsored by all the border
reps that would solve many issues. We are pushing legislation to
be introduces. We have researched international border, river,
and environmental treaties with Mexico. We are exhausting all
avenues.
And we have NOT given up! Today we saw a very
productive conference call with folks in Washington DC... the
stakes are high and the issue pushed harder than ever by DHS and Chertoff... But there are options left, and we are taking them.
Each day a new issue arises in this fight... DHS is being very
elusive and leaves us in the dark as much as possible. They have
plain LIED time and time again... even to our Senators and other
government branches! Please believe me when I say that! This has
become personal for me and many down here! I have been insulted
enough!
The main problem... the political picture in the nation.
Folks up north have bought into the "need" for a wall. It is
hard to understand local (international) issues when one does
not experience the border daily. Yes, borders need to be
"secure", but the problem is... a fence will NOT stop the
"threats" that have been listed. A wall will not stop
immigrants, drugs, or the purported terrorist. Sorry, it will
maybe slow down a few folks a few seconds. It is that simple!
Even DHS has admitted that!
The local Border Patrol guys in the
field shake their heads at the idea of a wall!!!! The Coast
Guard said the other day that it will not stop the problems. We
can build the wall, and spend $3.3 million per mile or more, and
just to see it fail!! And do all the ecological, economical, and
social damage that it WILL do.
BUT DHS is mandated by a federal
Law (Secure Fence Act) to build fences along the border. SO only
a legislative solution can stop this. We are trying or best to
spread the word nationally just how folly this is and for folks
to understand the issue and then talk to their senators and reps
to give them a "way out".
If the American people speak up, the
congress can say... OK, they don't want it... they vote for
us... lets change that law. Most congress folks really and truly
don't want the wall, but political and constituents pressure
keeps them from speaking up and voting against it.
And through
the Real ID ACT Chertoff has the right to waive EVERY law and
treaty he needs to do away with to build this wall. And he will.
He already did so in CA and AZ. And they promised the same
promises there as they are now in the RGV. That landowners can
choose the type of wall, where it's build, etc. Those are plain
LIES to get permission to use the land. The LAW states what they
have to do, and Border Patrol has no legal right to promise any
of those things.
They say they are "consulting with local
interest!! NO, they are NOT, we know that down here! They are
holding landowner meetings not announced to the public and TELLS
us what THEY are doing... no local input as they say. Even
President Bush publicly stated that he dose not want locals to
have input!! (Hope he plans to retire in another state!)
We have
a $125 million a year ecotourism trade in the RGV with over
200,000 nature visitors. A neighboring nation that spends more
dollars in McAllen than any other city in the US! Retail sales
from Mexican nationals have already dropped a large
percentage... due to even the talk of the wall. The Valley
economy, which drives the state economy per some reports, will
suffer immensely. It is national, no international, issue as
Mexico is one of our largest trade partners.
There are
alternatives to a wall that will work better!! Wildlife
(endangered cats, reptiles, etc) populations will be splintered
along the river, the ONLY riparian habitats left will
disappear... no more Gray Hawk, Red-billed Pigeon, etc, etc.
Walls will be placed in front of such sites as Sabal Palms, half
of Brownsville will end up on the "other" side of the wall.
The
Lower Rio Grande NWR will be hit the hardest as it has dozens of
tracts along the river...and its federally owned and easy to
"take". Historical sites will be bulldozed!! Roma Bluffs and the
brand new World Birding Center will see a wall in between them!!
The list goes on folks!! $100 million have been spent to buy and
reforest thousands of acres along the river in the RGV over the
last 30 years. That will all go to the dozers! Partners have
worked so hard over the decades to try to rebuild these precious
areas. Tens of thousands of school kids have planted native
seedlings each year on refuge lands!
THIS IS NOT A SMALL LITTLE
ISSUE!! THIS IS THE WORST ECOLOGICAL DISASTER IN THE RGV IN OUR
LIFETIME!!! The world will lose another treasure. If you wish to
help let us know! Bird On...
Martin Hagne Harlingen, TX Cameron
Co.
From CNN Thursday, October
26, 2006 |
.jpg) |
WASHINGTON (CNN) --
President Bush on Thursday
signed an immigration bill
into law that authorizes the
construction of nearly 700
miles of fencing on parts of
the U.S. border with Mexico.
It is one of the first steps
toward a tougher stance on
illegal immigration touted
by Republicans and comes 12
days before mid-term
elections. Bush said the
measure will "help protect
the American people.
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Wait A Minuet by Emmalee Tarry
The bill is rather vague, but seems to include
the birdiing areas in the Rio Grande Valley of : Santa Ana, Anzalduas, Bentson State Park, Salinino, and San Ignacio as well
as ranches along the river. Ninety five percent of the habitat
along the river has already been destroy. The Fence seems
to take the rest. The river is not straight. It makes deep bends.
Will the fence follow the river or cut straight across taking
even more land?
Will brush be allowed to grow up to the fence or
will they clear at least a 100 yards on each side of the double
fence?
The Harlingen Border Patrol strongly promoted the fence
during a visit in December by the author because it will protect
the country from terrorists. Terrorists? When has a
terrorist entered the country by swimming the Rio Grande River?
Usually the Border Patrol apprehends undocumented
workers and marijuana smugglers. Are we to give up the
last wildlife habitat along the river for this?
It seems to me this fence will cede the river to
the Mexicans. American fishermen, boaters, birdwatchers
will not have access to the river. I don't think Americans are
going to like it when they figure this out. Of course,
birdwatchers may not be a factor if the fence is built because
in the Rio Grande Valley bridwatching will be history.
Link to NY Times article about Sabal Palm and the fence.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/07/us/07land.html?_r=1&sq=A%20Natural%20Treasure%20That%20May%20End%20Up%20Without%20A%20Country&st=nyt&adxnnl=1&oref=slogin&scp=1&adxnnlx=1207746595-sVEx9whfr12spkjVe8Sqqg
New
York Times Article January 17 Excerpts
from Escape
"Indeed, it is the
kingfishers, green jays, kiskadees and
other birds that thrive along the Rio
Grande that make this 275-mile stretch
of the river a prime destination for
nature lovers. Some 500 bird species
have been sighted in the four-county
region, making it the most concentrated
area in the
United States for birds, according
to experts. To a growing number of
eco-tourists, the region is also the
center of butterflying. Of the 700
varieties found in the United States,
300 alight here.
As rich as the region is for birders and
butterfliers, some naturalists say the
area is now threatened because of the
border fence legislation signed in late
October by President Bush to help curb
illegal immigration. The details on just
what such a fence would look like have
not been made public yet, but
environmentalists and people who depend
on nature tourism, which brings an
estimated $125 million to the area
annually, are concerned.
“A
physical fence on the river doesn’t make
sense because the river is so winding,
and it would eliminate the last remnant
of the native riparian forest down
here,” said Keith Hackland, a local
naturalist, noting that in some places
the green corridor is only 50 to 100
feet wide. “Even if birds and
butterflies could fly over, they would
have nowhere to fly to.”
......
......
"The Santa Ana
refuge is part
of a larger plan
by Fish and
Wildlife to
string together
nature preserves
along the river
to provide a
wildlife
corridor not
only for birds
and butterflies
but for the
endangered
ocelot and other
native animals.
So far, 40,000
acres of the
Lower Rio Grande
Valley National
Wildlife Refuge
are open to the
public en route
to an envisioned
132,500 acres
bordering the
final 275 miles
of the river
from Falcon Dam
south to the
Gulf of Mexico.
But the entire
project, critics
say, is
threatened by
the proposed
immigration
fence.
“Most people
here are against
it for social
reasons. You
don’t want to
put up a fence
to keep out the
neighbors,” said
Martin Hagne,
director of the
Valley Nature
Center in
Weslaco. “It
could wipe out
all that habitat
it has taken 20
years to
develop.”
While specific
designs for the
fence remain a
mystery, the
Secure Fence Act
calls for it to
be completed by
2008 and for the
Lower Rio Grande
Valley portion
to run from
Laredo to
Brownsville.
Jarrod Agen, a
spokesman in
Washington
for the
Department of
Homeland
Security,
said yesterday
that the agency
would consider
the concerns of
environmentalists
in any decision
about the form
of the wall,
adding that
cameras and
sensors might
prove more
effective in a
rural area. “We
are looking at a
mix of physical
barriers as well
as technology to
have have full
surveillance of
the border,” he
said.
Mr. Hagne and
some other
environmentalists
are hoping the
barrier will
indeed be some
type of virtual
fence made up of
electronic
surveillance
devices that
would preserve
the habitat,
rather than a
solid wall or
fence, which, if
built on the
shore, might
require clearing
vegetation for
patrol paths.
In one of the
nation’s fastest
growing regions,
eco-advocates
already fight
developers and
agricultural
interests for
space.
Butterflying and
birding there
require
hopscotching
from one nature
preserve to the
next in a
central core of
communities over
30 miles, from
Mission in the
west to Weslaco
in the east,
with the busy
McAllen at the
center. Vast
farm fields and
RV parks buffer
sights that
include the
Edinburg Scenic
Wetlands, the
Valley Nature
Center, Quinta
Mazatlan and
Bentsen-Rio
Grande Valley
State Park,
where we
attended an
evening “owl
prowl” in search
of nocturnal
black witch
moths and
foraging
javalina."
Excerpts From
the Valley
Morning Star
Front Page
Article on Jan
18,2007
Border mayors
united against
fence
"A
10-person group,
including local
bank executives
and the mayors
of
Brownsville,McAllen,
Hidalgo and Rio
Grande Citymet
with Homeland
Security
Secretary
Michael Chertoff
in Washington,
D.C..."......"
The group that
also included
mayors from El
Paso, Eagle Pass
and Laredo, met
with Texas Sens.
Kay Bailey
Hutchison and
John Cornyn met
with Chertoff
and others."
"Trevino said.
He hopes the
coalition hopes
Congress will
repeal last
year's
legislation
calling for
construction of
850 miles of
fencing to stem
illegal
immigration.
......"The
optimum solution
is the repeal of
the law.".....
Chertoff said
after the
meeting there
are parts of the
border where a
fence will work,
and the agency
wants to be
expedition in
building it.
But he said some
border areas
will need a mix
of technology.
Bush signed the
law last year,
and Congress
provided some
money to start
it.......
The fence law
dictates one
segment
stretching east
from El Paso,
another from Del
Rio to Eagle
Pass and a third
from Laredo to
Brownsville.
A separate law
that funds the
Homeland
Security
Department
provided $1.2
billion for the
fencing......"
The mayors have
a better idea.
They want to
strip all the
vegetation from
the river so the
illegals can be
seen crossing
the river. This
will not help
the birds.
Will the Fence Work? Article from the
Denver Post
http://www.denverpost.com/fortressamerica/ci_5356695
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