"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
Ecocide | Breaking Big Bend
This is a real-time story, meaning it was recorded as it was unfolding, with new developments possible before you press play. In the 1980s, a black bear swam across[…]
Austin American-Statesman | For Big Bend, a pause is not the same as protection
Last spring, when drought had slowed the flow of the Rio Grande through Big Bend National Park to little more than a trickle, I slung a daypack over my[…]
SFGate | Bulldozers are ripping apart Big Bend National Park. Conservationists are furious.
Originally posted August 7, 2026 Heavy construction equipment has appeared inside Big Bend National Park in southern Texas as contractors for Customs and Border Protection begin a land assessment.[…]
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[…]
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[…]
Austin American-Statesman | This is the edge of America. Why would we change it?
We stood at the doorstep of a foreign land and a gorge millions of years in the making. I told my kids: This is the edge of America.
Marfa Public Radio | Former Big Bend National Park superintendents express ‘grave concerns’ about Trump administration’s border plans
Article Updated - Six former superintendents of Big Bend National Park are expressing “grave concerns” with the Trump administration’s plan for new border barriers, roads and surveillance technology in[…]
NPR | In West Texas, an unlikely alliance stands against extending the border wall
On a quiet spring morning, Joe Pineda drives across his land near the Rio Grande, pointing out where he runs cattle and grows alfalfa and the family cemetery that[…]
Our Public Lands and Waters | Instead of a Border Wall, CBP Plans to Pave Backcountry Roads Along Rio Grande in Big Bend National Park
After severe and sustained bipartisan blowback—including from all Big Bend border sheriffs, all Texas border county judges, and countless furious locals—it appears that U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP)[…]
All TX Dems in Congress Write to DHS Sec’y Opposing Big Bend Wall
Texas Congressman Lloyd Doggett organized a letter sent to new DHS Secretary Mullin on March 27,2026, co-signed by all Texas Democrats in Congress, the Ranking Member of the House[…]
Categories
Tags
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