Good Fences May Make Good Neighbors, But They Sure Can Screw Up Your Yard

No doubt that, by now, you’ve heard about Congress’s monumentally stupid idea to place 700 miles of ‘fence’ along the U.S. Mexico border, with much of that fence being built in Texas.

You’ve probably also heard the phrase “good fences make good neighbors.” And, if your neighbors have 14 pit bulls and like to subathe naked around their swimming pool in spite of weighing 500 pounds, good fences probably do make good neighbors.

But, they can also really tear up your yard. Or, in the case of the border fence, they can endanger the environment, according to the Associated Press in a recent El Paso Times article:

Plans to build a fence along about 700 miles of the U.S. border with Mexico could mean the destruction of costly environmental restoration projects and could cut into lucrative tourism and cross-border spending in the Rio Grande Valley and elsewhere in South Texas.

[...]

It’s unclear exactly where the two-layer fence could be built. But a House proposal includes plans for a barrier in El Paso, a nearly 60-mile stretch of fence between Del Rio and Eagle Pass and a final section along more than 220 miles of border between Laredo and Brownsville.

[...]

Environmentalists say the plan could destroy habitats and cut off access to water for numerous creatures, including the already endangered ocelot and jarguarundi.

“They move back and forth across the water,” said Mary Lou Campbell, a conservation chairwoman with the Sierra Club’s Lower Rio Grande Valley Group. “When you isolate a species, you also (alter) their gene pool.”

Campbell said construction of the fence would also destroy the habitats of countless other creatures that live in the marshy brush along the river.

“We’re concerned about the overall animal population,” Campbell said. “I’m sure they would be cutting down trees, and brush and underbrush to make way for this wall and all of it will be destructive to wildlife.”

Surprisingly, this is the best news I’ve heard about a border fence, period. Let me explain:

If there is one issue that, in the federal courts, could usurp Congress’ desire to build this monstrosity of a fence, it would be the environment. Environmental issues have halted dozens of federal projects over the years: everything from endangered species to protected species to destroying habitats to screwing up the flow of water.

All it would take to basically stop the fence from being built for a decade or more would be one federal lawsuit. Literally, if the Sierria Club or another group filed a lawsuit (providing they are able to have some standing under the Engandered Species Act, federal water laws or some other provision, which I’m sure they could find) there would have to be years of environmental impact studies, years of court wrangling, and, of course, appeals.

It’s strange that, out of all of the international policy issues at play in the border fence issue, the one thing that could put a real monkey wrench into the situation is the environment. Ha, ha. Ha!

Here’s more from AP:

Some rare birds not found in other parts of Texas or the United States could also lose prey and either die off or be forced to leave the area in search of food, Campbell said.

The North American Butterfly Association, which runs the International Butterfly Park in the small border town of Mission, worries that the fence could cut off a part of their 72-acre park.

“It would have a huge negative impact on what we’re doing,” said Sue Sill, executive director of the park. “Seventy-two acres sounds like a lot, but it’s not.”

Sill said she and other park officials have spent nearly four years restoring native plants to the park, a project that was partially funded with about $205,000 in state and federal grants.

It’s hard to know how many people might shy away from the park’s annual events, including the Rio Grande Prix of Butterflying, but Sill said she suspects a massive wall designed to keep illegal immigrants out isn’t likely to help attendance.

“We want our border secure, we want to be protected, but we also don’t want to go overboard,” Sill said. “We would hate to see the destruction of what we’ve already done.”

Perhaps the area is an habitat for some type of endangered butterfly. Can’t you just hear the Neocons howling when the entire project is held up because of a butterfly colony? Ha, ha, ha!