Making Sure Animals Don't Cross the Border Either
By Suemedha Sood
03/24/2008
03:04PM
NPR has a story today about the 370-mile fence the government is trying to erect along the U.S.-Mexico border. The federal government is suing to gain access to private land in the Rio Grande Valley, for local property owners are less than welcoming. The fence has all sorts of implications for the debate surrounding the crackdown on illegal immigration, which, The Chicago Tribune reports is no longer the hot presidential election issue everyone thought it would be.
But the fence could damage the area's ecosystem, affecting Texan wildlife. The fence will likely be built on or along a federal levee system, running between the Rio Grande River and the urban parts of the Valley. According to NPR, the fence could isolate tracts of land and prevent animals from getting to the river's edge. This means the Valley's eco-tourism industry could take a hit. Some animals affected include the endangered ocelot (a type of wild cat with a leopard print), gray hawks, Muscovy ducks and red-billed pigeons.
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© 2007 The Washington Independent
Comments:
Posted 03/24/2008 06:15pm with
When they put in interstates in some areas they have to put in underpasses for wildlife because an interstate is the same as a fence to a wild animal (possibly worse). The government has to do something to entice the Mexicans to follow the proper procedures to gain citizenship, and thus enter the country legally. It’s kind of like abstinence teaching. It’s just as stupid to think a fence is the proper solution as it is to think that if you tell a teenager not to do something, they will listen.