Posts in News

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

Portable floodlights near the U.S.-Mexico border near the Fabens area outside El Paso.

NYTimes | Dark Sky Defenders Raise Alarm Along the Border of West Texas

Unfettered access to the cosmos is an integral part of the landscape in Terlingua and across the Big Bend region of West Texas. It has fostered a community of[…]

Coalition to Protect America's National Parks

Protect NPS | Coalition Urges CBP to Minimize Border Barrier Construction and Keep Big Bend National Park Wild

The Coalition to Protect America’s National Parks (Coalition) is comprised of more than 5,000 members, all of whom are retired, former, or current National Park Service (NPS) employees or[…]

The Lower Canyons of the Rio Grande, near Langtry. Forrest Wilder

Texas Monthly | The Most Useless Border Barrier in Texas

Perhaps Raymond Skiles should be relieved. A few months ago, the Trump administration was laying the groundwork to take part of his 550-acre ranch near tiny Langtry to build[…]

Santa Elena Canyon. Shutterstock photo.

Texas Observer | What Is (and Isn’t) Happening with the Border Wall in Big Bend

You’ve probably heard about the Trump administration’s plans for a border wall through Big Bend. Or its plans not to build a wall at all, but instead to put[…]

A detail from a panel that could be impacted by wall construction. Vibrations from heavy equipment can even damage sites not directly in the path of construction. (Photo credit: Shumla Archaeological Research and Education Center Archive)

The Border Chronicle | Trump’s Border Wall Is Coming for Some of the Oldest Murals in North America

On June 3, the Department of Homeland Security awarded its largest upfront border wall contract to date to Fisher Sand & Gravel, a North Dakota company with a checkered[…]

The Alpine Avalanche | Border Wall Outcries Fall on Deaf Ears

The ongoing controversy involving the building of a border wall in Big Bend looks to be forging ahead, despite multiple organizations and conservation advocates’ pleas, as well as comments[…]

Protesters carry signs against the border wall on February 28 at the intersection of Highway 118 and FM 170 in Terlingua. There were over 100 people in attendance that day, and there were frequent protests at that spot. (Sarah Vasquez)

The Architect’s Newspaper | Crossing the Line

In recent years, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) archaeologists have uncovered a pit house near the Rio Grande in Far West Texas inside Big Bend Ranch State Park[…]

San Vicente schoolteacher Iva Lee Bales poses with her class at Glenn Springs. The residents of San Vicente were forced out of what's now Big Bend National Park during the 1940s. Photo courtesy of the Archives of the Big Bend, Steve and May Bennet Collection.

Big Bend Sentinel | ‘We already lost it once’: Eminent domain returns to the Big Bend

When Everett Ewing Townsend, a 23-year-old customs inspector stationed on the border in the Big Bend, saw the South Rim of the Chisos Mountains for the first time, he[…]

Opponents of the wall argue that Big Bend's rugged terrain serves as a natural border (Photo: Stacey Campbell/Getty Images)

Outside | The Trump Administration Just Waived Dozens of Protections in Big Bend. Former Park Leaders Are Sounding the Alarm.

Originally posted June 17, 2026 Lawmakers and former leaders of Big Bend National Park are sounding the alarm after the Trump administration recently waived dozens of environmental and historic protections. The groups[…]

The Rio Grande cuts through the desert between the U.S. and Mexico as seen from an aerial view over Big Bend National Park on May 24, 2026. Kaylee Greenlee for The Texas Tribune

Valley Central.com | Proposed ban on Big Bend border wall fails in U.S. House funding panel

A proposal to bar the Trump administration from building a border wall in Big Bend National Park died Wednesday in the U.S. House Appropriations Committee, after the GOP-controlled panel[…]

1 … 5 6 7 8 9 … 16

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.

© 2026 Keep Big Bend Wild.
Layout by Jess Repanshek and Kubio.
Images © Rebecca Latson.

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