The State of the Borderlands
Editor’s note: The situation at the border wall is quickly evolving. Keep an eye on our social media channels for updates.
“It’s a tense time in the borderlands,” sighed Myles Traphagen, our Borderlands Program Coordinator.
On April 14, news broke that the U.S. Customs and Border Protection plans to build nearly 25 miles of new border wall in the San Rafael Valley. That’s in addition to 40 miles of border wall construction announced on November 5, 2024, under the Biden Administration – 26 miles in Texas and 14 miles in California, Arizona, and New Mexico.
“These are intended to close gaps in the wall, but this incremental crawl of building more walls will ultimately become a continental divide of the worst kind. When the final gaps are plugged in New Mexico, there will be a 99-mile-long steel barrier that is impassable to deer, pronghorn, black bears, Mexican gray wolves, and many more,” Myles updated.
As we face this unprecedented barrier to wildlife movement in North American history, we are focused on three outcomes:
Limiting the construction of new border wall so that gaps remain to limit the impact on wildlife movement and ecosystem connectivity.
Maintaining wildlife openings and floodgates that are currently open to allow wildlife to cross the border.
Installing small and large wildlife openings in any new construction.
Dividing a continent. Photo by Myles Traphagen
The Border Wall’s Impact on Wildlife
Last year, our team collected and published some of the only data demonstrating the U.S.-Mexico border wall’s impact on wildlife movement.
Our study with Sky Island Alliance found that the border wall reduced wildlife movement by 86% compared to vehicle barriers.
Data from wildlife cameras along 100 miles of the border demonstrate that only 9% of wildlife interactions with the border wall led to successful crossings. Large animals like black bears, mountain lions, deer, and wild turkeys were completely unable to cross the border – a 100% reduction in movement.
The border wall’s impact is no better illustrated than by the story of Mr. Goodbar (also named M1888), a Mexican gray wolf who in 2021 tried to cross the border from the U.S. into Mexico as he dispersed in search of food, territory, and a mate.
A Mexican gray wolf. Photo by Juan Carlos Bravo
Just four years earlier, his cousin, M1425, made headlines by making a 600-mile journey in 32 days from Chihuahua, Mexico, through New Mexico’s Las Cruces mountains and back – crossing the border twice in the process.
M1425 crossed the border into New Mexico here in 2017. Photo by Myles Traphagen
However, by the time Mr. Goodbar got to the border, he met a very different reality than his cousin had in the exact same location: 30-foot-tall steel beams. For 3 days, he paced along the impenetrable wall without finding a way through. Shortly after he turned back into New Mexico, he was shot.
Little did he know, the stretch he paced went on for 99 miles of newly constructed wall built in 2019 and 2020.
The two wolf movement routes before (blue) and after (red) border wall construction. Map by Wildlands Network
“Is it a coincidence, or are these ancestral movement corridors imprinted deep in the DNA of these wolves?” Myles wondered.
Mr. Goodbar’s story is one of countless instances in which new border wall construction has impacted ancient movement patterns that wildlife need to survive.
Limiting new construction is the ideal scenario to avoid any further barriers to movement and habitat loss in the borderlands, which also happens to be one of the most biodiverse regions in the world.
Mr. Goodbar paced along the border wall here in New Mexico unable to cross in 2021. Photo by Myles Traphagen
However, “the President's hope is that by the end of the term we build the entire border wall," Vice President JD Vance reported on CBS News in March.
As new construction continues, two alternative measures are absolutely essential in order to maintain ecosystem function in the borderlands: leaving current wildlife openings intact and incorporating new ones.
A Proven Solution: Wildlife Openings
The good news is that there is a solution to improve wildlife movement with a border wall: small and large wildlife openings.
Mr. Goodbar’s story began a wave of large openings in the wall when we and other experts used the GPS data from his collar to prove to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) that the wall had a direct effect on the endangered Mexican gray wolf’s movement and dispersal.
After legal negotiations, in 2023, DHS agreed to create a series of large wildlife openings and leave certain floodgates open to allow passage for larger animals like wolves, pronghorn, black bears, and bison.
These are the only ways large animals can cross the border wall – and they work. To date, we’ve documented a large mountain lion (shown above), a coyote, and many more using the wildlife openings and open floodgates. A Mexican gray wolf very well could have used the same openings.
A coyote using open floodgates in the border wall. Video by Wildlands Network
As new construction develops, continuing to incorporate these large wildlife openings is critical.
Just as important is adding small wildlife openings, which have the potential to be more frequent than large ones while still facilitating important movement.
Myles Traphagen and our partner at Sky Island Alliance, Eamon Harrity, measuring small wildlife openings in the border wall. Photos by Myles Traphagen and Eamon Harrity
Our study demonstrated that these smaller wildlife openings (measuring 8.5”x11”) facilitated 16.7 times more movement for smaller animals like the javelina and coyote. While they save lives, only 13 of these “doggie door” openings existed along 99 miles of border barriers included in our site.
Miraculously, even a female mountain lion with her cubs shimmied through this small opening. Video by Wildlands Network and Sky Island Alliance
More frequent and larger openings are urgently needed in all new construction.
Our Next Steps in the Borderlands
Today and in the coming years, we are continuing to document and monitor wildlife movement at the border wall. In partnership with Sky Island Alliance, we set up wildlife cameras along sections of the border wall to further identify movement patterns. In addition, we are currently studying the 40 miles of new border wall already in progress and plan to expand our study area as needed for future phases.
“This effort does not come cheap, neither financially nor emotionally, and often at personal risk. Navigating among the various public and private entities that choose to occupy this stunningly beautiful and biodiverse landscape, some of which are quite hostile, takes a toll,” Myles added. “But, we will continue to be your eyes and ears on the border. Wildlife need us more than ever.”
We hope to see a world in which wolves like Mr. Goodbar can again follow their ancient instincts through undivided habitat. Stay tuned for updates on this quickly developing landscape.
Cover photo: A mountain lion using a wildlife opening to pass through the border wall. Video by Wildlands Network
