NATURE

DIVIDED

"Nature Divided," a new documentary from the Emmy Award-winning "In Real Life" series, explores the impact of border walls on wildlife across the world and uncovers how a variety of wildlife experts are bridging these divided landscapes.

The film followed our Borderlands Program Coordinator, Myles Traphagen, along the U.S.-Mexico border wall, highlighting its harmful impact on connectivity. New wildlife openings simultaneously provide hope that species like the black bear, mountain lion, deer, and javelina could someday overcome border barriers.  

Watch the full documentary below. 

Uncovering the Border Wall’s Impact on Wildlife 

Border walls divide continental migration routes and connectivity for wildlife without a full understanding of their impacts on wildlife and biodiversity.

By documenting and studying the wall’s impacts, we are using those insights to design and advocate for new approaches to border wall connectivity informed by wildlife movement research and practical applications like wildlife openings. 

Over 700 miles of fencing along our U.S.-Mexico border dividing vital habitat and wildlife populations

We are observing wildlife at the wall and studying how it impacts their movement.

Mapping the Wall and Its Urgent Priorities for Wildlife

In 2021, we published a map showing the completed sections of the U.S.-Mexico border wall in New Mexico and Arizona. This map remains the most accurate and detailed documentation of the new border wall sections built during the Trump Administration.

Explore our interactive StoryMap highlighting six priority restoration areas in Arizona and New Mexico, including sites in the Whitewater Mountains, Carrizalillo Mountains, Patagonia Mountains, Pajarito Mountains, and San Bernardino National Wildlife Refuge, all of which urgently require restoration.

Stay tuned for updates on our new research on wildlife movement at the border wall.  

Stories From the Border Wall