Trump Admin Could Dynamite Mountain For New Border Wall

The Trump administration's plan for a border wall in Texas may involve blasting through Mariscal Mountain, a limestone ridge within Big Bend National Park, according to federal maps and environmental groups. U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has not disclosed detailed engineering plans for constructing a patrol road across the mountain, but lawmakers and environmental advocates claim the rugged route would likely require dynamite and extensive bulldozing.

CBP Commissioner Rodney Scott denied the claims, stating that the agency is not building a traditional wall through Big Bend National Park. Instead, CBP plans to build one new access road, improve existing roads, install detection technology, and place vehicle barriers in strategic locations. However, the project has faced backlash from local officials, environmental groups, and former National Park Service leaders who argue that the planned roads, barriers, and surveillance infrastructure would damage sensitive desert habitat, alter remote sections of Big Bend National Park, and threaten the area's economy dependent on outdoor recreation and tourism.

Sheriff Thaddeus Cleveland, who has firsthand experience of the area, believes that building a road in Mariscal Canyon is impractical and unnecessary due to the terrain and remoteness making it an unlikely crossing point.