"The Rio Grande Valley is home to ocelots and other endangered species. Now, the federal government will not have to follow the Endangered Species Act and more than two dozen other federal laws to build the border wall through a national wildlife refuge."
"The Department of Homeland Security announced on Tuesday that Secretary Kristi Noem has waived the protections of the Endangered Species Act and other federal statutes to “ensure the expeditious construction” of the border wall through the Lower Rio Grande Valley National Wildlife Refuge in Texas.
Funds were appropriated for border wall construction in the Rio Grande Valley during the first Trump administration. Now, the administration is eyeing this biodiverse area in Starr County for its next stage of border fortification.
By the time the refuge was established in 1979, the Rio Grande Valley had already lost most of its native habitat. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service pieced together property to protect biodiversity and create a wildlife corridor along the Rio Grande.
Endangered ocelots are being reintroduced in the scrub thorn landscape of Starr County. Other notable species in the area include green jays and the chachalaca, a tropical bird known for its distinctive call."
Martha Pskowski reports for Inside Climate News August 26, 2025.
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