Originally posted July 14, 2026
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 dark sky defenders, who regularly ward off threats like too-bright store signs and intrusive car headlights.
Now, they’re facing something far greater: the construction of President Trump’s border wall, which residents across the Big Bend fear will bring bright lighting along land that is currently untouched.
Lighting has already been installed along stretches of the border in Arizona and farther east in Texas. “That technology is there, and it is literally a flip of a switch away,” said Billy Bartko, the director of Terlingua’s Far Flung Outdoor Center, “which is what we’re all afraid of.”
For residents along the border, it’s about more than just seeing the stars. The natural darkness symbolizes a lack of development, a rural way of life.
Read the full story at NYTimes.com.
Photo credit Emily Elconin
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