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Photo ©Rebecca L. Latson

"I stand with the Keep Big Bend Wild coalition"

I stand with the Keep Big Bend Wild coalition in their mission to secure official Wilderness designation for Big Bend National Park's untouched backcountry. This fight isn't new—the National Park Service first championed it in 1974, during my tenure as Director, and reaffirmed the call in 1978. Now, it's time for Congress to act. By enshrining permanent, statutory protection, we can ensure Big Bend’s breathtaking landscapes remain shielded from policy shifts or development threats. It's heartening to see the backing of former NPS Directors, united in our commitment to safeguarding America's wilderness legacy so future generations can continue to embrace its solitude, beauty, and ecological richness."

~ Ronald H. Walker, NPS Director 1973-1975

Texas judges pen letter to Homeland Security Secretary

Judges’ letter urging transparency and local partnership

A collection of Texas judges have penned a letter to Secretary of Homeland Security Markwayne Mullin urging transparency and local partnership. We, the undersigned County Judges, representing 100% of[…]

Possible border wall impacts to Big Bend National Park

National Parks Traveler | Simulation Shows The On-The-Ground Impacts Of A Border Wall In Big Bend

An engineer’s simulation of the possible effects from a border wall proposed for Big Bend National Park by the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agency shows widespread impacts, from light pollution and[…]

Texas judges are calling on DHS to increase transparency around plans for border wall construction in Big Bend / Rebecca Latson.

National Parks Traveler | Texas Border County Judges Urge Transparency In Plans For Big Bend Border Wall

Elected county judges from every county along the Texas-Mexico border are calling on the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to coordinate more closely with local officials as confusion continues[…]

An example of vehicle barriers previously installed by U.S. Customs and Border Protection near Presidio, Texas in 2019. Photo by Greg Davis / U.S. Customs and Border Protection

Marfa Public Radio | Big Bend National Park could see vehicle barriers, patrol roads under latest changes to border wall plans

The Trump administration is once again planning to install physical border barriers within Big Big National Park in West Texas, according to an updated map of “Smart Wall” projects that now[…]

Big Bend smart wall map

National Parks Traveler | Latest U.S. Customs And Border Protection Map Returns Border Wall To Big Bend

New mapping from U.S. Customs and Border Protection indicates the agency has returned to planning for a physical border wall in parts of Big Bend National Park in Texas despite strong opposition from[…]

Residents stage a weekly roadside protest against proposed border wall construction on 11 April in the Big Bend town of Terlingua, Texas Photograph: John Moore/Getty Images

The Guardian | Trump’s latest border wall plans to slice through Big Bend national park: ‘Our lives are being upended’

Tractors suddenly appeared at the entrance to Chispa Road near the US-Mexico border in rural Big Bend, Texas, in late March. Contractors informed Yolanda Alvarado, a cattle rancher, that they were[…]

Big Bend smart wall map

Our Public Lands and Waters | Smart Wall Map

Today, the U.S. Customs and Border Protection has once again updated its now-infamous “Smart Wall Map.” And yes, the border barrier is back in Big Bend National Park. If anyone[…]

Trump’s Border Wall Could Go Through Big Bend National Park. Here’s What We Have to Lose.

Originally posted at MyGrandCanyonPark.com Tony Drewry’s song, Chinga Tu Muro, has become a local battle cry since U.S. Customs and Border Protection unveiled plans in February for a border[…]

Big Bend National Park Photo by Jordan Vonderhaar

Border Wall Meets Bipartisan Backlash in Big Bend

Originally posted 4/8 by Miranda Green You might have to dust off some cerebral cobwebs to recall Trump’s key 2016 campaign chant of “Build that wall!” The rallying cry[…]

Take Care of Texas homepage

Keep Big Bend Wild Named an Official Take Care of Texas Partner

Take Care of Texas, a statewide campaign from the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, supports our collective role as Texans in environmental protection in our state. Keep Big Bend[…]

Support Keep Big Bend Wild

Click this button to add your name to the growing list of individuals, businesses, and organizations supporting a wilderness designation for the undeveloped lands of Big Bend National Park.

If you would also be willing to help support Keep Big Bend Wild financially please click Donate. 

Every contribution helps defray the cost of our volunteers to produce materials and travel to meetings to build awareness and strengthen our coalition. 

Contributions supporting Keep Big Bend Wild are managed by the El Paso Community Foundation and are tax deductible as allowed by law.

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Images © Rebecca Latson.

Keep Big Bend Wild
P.O. Box 66
Big Bend National Park, TX, 79834