Residents of Brewster and Presidio Counties join forces
As news of the Trump administration’s plans to build a wall through Big Bend Ranch State Park and Big Bend National Park reach the region’s far flung residents, passions have run high, with locals expressing a mix of anger, confusion and grief over nearly 300 miles of “smart wall” that could permanently sever public access to some of the region’s most popular tourist attractions.
Last Thursday, photographer Anna Claire Beasley of Terlingua posted an online petition that has since gathered over 30,000 signatures. “Building a physical wall through this section of border would not only be devastating to the local flora and fauna, it would ruin one of the most incredible parcels of public land in the Lone Star State,” she wrote. “I urge you to join me in sending a clear message to decision-makers: protect West Texas.”
The cause has quickly become a social media sensation, with nature lovers and park aficionados posting about their experiences. “I can’t emphasize how little I enjoy political stuff … I have no agenda or slant, I just love exploring my state,” John Sorsby, a Texas-based outdoor influencer, said in a video. “I feel confident that the vast majority of people who have spent real time in Big Bend would agree regardless of political affiliation that turning the most perfect place in Texas into a construction zone with a huge permanent wall and bright lights would be devastating.”
Local officials seem to be in agreement with Beasley, Sorsby and the thousands of people commenting on their posts. “Nobody wants a damn wall,” Pecos County Judge Joe Shuster, a Democrat, told the Dallas Morning News last week. Hudspeth County Judge Joanna MacKenzie, a Republican, told a crowd at a conference at Sul Ross State University earlier this month that the wall was “a bandaid to make people feel better who don’t live here and don’t see it.”
The Big Bend’s two representatives in the state legislature — Eddie Morales and César Blanco, both Democrats — have both expressed alarm and upset at the news, calling upon the state’s highest elected official to put a stop to the plans. “It is our responsibility as Texans to be mindful stewards of one of God’s most incredible gifts to our state for future generations to enjoy,” Morales wrote in a statement. “The Governor should and can put an end to this—it is incumbent on him to make the right decision.”
Tony Gonzales, the Big Bend’s voice in Congress, has so far not put out a public statement voicing support of or opposition to the wall—though he did have a direct role in funding it as a member of the House Appropriations Committee, which carved out a record-breaking $46.5 billion dollars to the Department of Homeland Security for border wall construction as part of the “Big Beautiful Bill” passed last summer.
Last Thursday morning, Gonzales met with a small group of local leaders in Presidio at a session attended by the Big Bend Sentinel. He said that he shared many of the same questions: where will the government be investing in a physical wall, and where will sensors and other detection technology be deployed?
While he did not make an explicit statement about his position on the wall, he did say that he feels safe on his regular visits to the area. “The only thing I worry about in Presidio is cell phone service,” he told the group.
Folks on the ground in the Big Bend region have been mobilizing fast. A group called “No Big Bend Border Wall” (NBBBW) billing itself as “a community coalition focused on public education, transparency in federal decision-making, cultural and environmental resource protection, landowner rights, and due process” has been tirelessly active on social media, sharing links to information about the issue and providing call scripts and links for volunteer opportunities.
Clara Bensen of Marfa, serving as the quickly-evolving group’s director of communications, was excited about all of the energy. “This is very much a group for everybody—it’s actually been refreshing to see how nonpartisan it is,” she said. “We’re hearing from all kinds of people who have had a connection with the parks at some point in their lives, and they understand that the wall is not necessary based on the terrain. It’s not about your politics; it’s about common sense in a lot of ways.”
Although some on the flurry of social media posts around the wall have suggested that the notion of actual steel bollard walls is misinformation—that the agency will stick to its initial plans to prioritize sensors, lighting and roads in the Big Bend—several sources have related contacts from contractors who have worked on steel wall construction or are seeking large amounts of raw material like sand and gravel. Numerous local businesses who asked not to be named have gotten calls to provide housing for hundreds of workers.
Those calls and in-person visits have intensified in Terlingua over the past week, where on Monday night, a standing-room only crowd packed the Cinnabar Theatre—marking South Brewster County’s first foray into organizing around the issue. Folks from across the political spectrum came together to discuss how best to proceed, with many opting to join the existing NBBBW effort.
David Keller of Redford stressed the importance of sticking to positive, non-partisan messaging aimed at bringing stakeholders together. “I think we all feel a lot of outrage and a lot of urgency, but outrage is not strategy,” he told the crowd. “The best way to sell this is the Big Bend herself.”
For more reporting on the border wall, see bigbendsentinel.com/borderwall.
