The U.S.-Mexico borderlands region is globally treasured for its biodiversity. The region is home to over 800 species, including more than half of all bird species found in the U.S. Native animals like jaguars, pronghorn, Mexican wolves, black bears, and ocelot depend on unobstructed movement between the two countries.
Our Borderlands Program Coordinator, Myles Traphagen, spoke with the Arizona Daily Star about the potentially devastating effects of a border wall on the Sonoran pronghorn, who ranges between both Mexico and the U.S. to find food, mates, shelter, and other resources. Photo: Tom Koerner, USFWS
Myles Traphagen, coordinator of our Borderlands Program, spoke with Arizona’s KTAR News about the disastrous ecological effects of a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border. Photo: Brian Powell
On April 24, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service released the final Jaguar Recovery Plan. Many of the recovery actions proposed in the plan reaffirm Wildlands Network’s key strategies for protecting and enhancing jaguar populations in Mexico and the U.S., while also demonstrating the need for continued robust advocacy with government officials to improve and strengthen the official recovery programs. Photo: © milosk50 / Adobe Stock
KVOA, a local news station in Tucson, Arizona, interviewed our borderlands coordinator, Myles Traphagen, about the Pentagon’s recent transfer of $1 billion to build the border wall in Arizona, California, and New Mexico. Photo: Steve Hillebrand, USFWS
On Tuesday, the Department of Defense, in response to a directive issued by President Trump, announced that it was transferring $1 billion U.S. dollars to build Trump’s unnecessary and destructive border wall.Wildlands Network strongly opposes the construction of a border wall. The building of such a structure in southern Arizona and New Mexico would be an ecological disaster with far reaching implications. Photo: Tom Koerner, USFWS
El mes pasado, unos 40 líderes de conservación de la vida silvestre de Estados Unidos y México formaron la Colaboración para la Conservación de los Estados Fronterizos, un grupo de trabajo informal dedicado a preservar la conectividad y la biodiversidad única de las tierras fronterizas. Foto: Cortesía Colaboración para la Conservación de los Estados Fronterizos
Last month, some 40 wildlife conservation leaders from both the United States and Mexico formed the Border States Conservation Collaborative, an informal working group dedicated to preserving the connectivity and unique biodiversity of the borderlands. Photo: Courtesy Border States Conservation Collaborative
In the world of conservation, grasslands usually take a back seat to mountains and forests. But at the Tucson International Airport, grasses take center stage in larger-than-life prints in artist Matilda Essig’s exhibit. Our borderlands coordinator, Myles Traphagen, sat down with Matilda for an interview on the critical role grasses play in healthy ecosystems. Photo: Myles Traphagen
You’re invited to participate in the Border BioBlitz, March 2-3, all along the U.S.-Mexico border. Join us, Next Generation Sonoran Desert Researchers, and other collaborating organizations to document the stunning biological diversity of the borderlands at several key sites. All citizen scientists are encouraged to participate! Photo: Myles Traphagen
The Arizona Daily Star published this op-ed by our Borderlands Program Coordinator, Myles Traphagen, who details the catastrophic effects the president’s proposed border wall would have on regional wildlife, including wolves, Sonoran pronghorn, and jaguars. Photo: Gary M. Stolz
At a roundtable discussion of borderlands issues led by Sen. Bernie Sanders earlier this week, our borderlands program coordinator left with a little more hope about an equitable future for both wildlife and people in the area, as compassionate elected officials work to protect this unique region. Photo: Courtesy of Myles Traphagen
The Albuquerque Journal interviewed Mexico Program Director Juan Carlos Bravo and Borderlands Coordinator Myles Traphagen about the border wall’s disastrous effects on wildlife. Photo: Northern Jaguar Project/Naturalia
High Country News covered last month’s Border BioBlitz, organized by our own Myles Traphagen and Next Generation of Sonoran Desert Researchers. The BioBlitz identified over 800 species along the U.S.-Mexico border and highlighted the region’s spectacular biodiversity. Photo: Myles Traphagen
With so much negativity surrounding the borderlands region of the U.S. and Mexico, the inaugural Border BioBlitz sought to shine a positive light on this dynamic and diverse place that so many people and wildlife call home. Photo: Myles Traphagen
The Monitor, a newspaper in McAllen, Texas, interviewed Borderlands Coordinator Myles Traphagen about the Border BioBlitz, a citizen-science effort to document the stunning biodiversity along the borderlands, which would be devastated by a border wall. Photo: Myles Traphagen