"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
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 American West | Ep. 34: Big Bend and the Deserts of the West
In the eyes of the world, the West’s several deserts have become defining landscapes for the modern region. But one of them, the Chihuahuan Desert, has produced the only[…]
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[…]
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[…]
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.
National Parks Traveler | Wilderness Lost
Across the United States, from Alaska to Puerto Rico, there are about 112 million acres of officially designated wilderness. That amounts to about 5 percent of the country’s land[…]
Wild Idea Media | New Wilderness Directives, Congress Approves $2 Billion for Parks, Former Big Bend Supervisors Fight Border Wall
This week on The Wild Line, we’re tracking new federal directives reshaping wilderness management for climbing anchors and livestock grazing, a bipartisan bill that would restore nearly $2 billion[…]
Trump is pushing a border wall in my backyard.
Originally posted on Tangle February 28, 2026 When I was 14 years old, I traveled to the Big Bend region of West Texas for the first time. My extended[…]
Change In Plans For Big Bend Border Wall?
Originally posted by National Parks Traveler. There’s been a possible change in plans for a border wall through Big Bend National Park, one that could negate the need for[…]
Texans Love Big Bend for Its Wildness. Trump Wants to Put a Wall Through It.
“It’s been a big shock, and people are reeling,” said Bob Krumenaker, a former superintendent of Big Bend National Park and a member of Keep Big Bend Wild, a small[…]
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