McALLEN, Texas (Border Report) — U.S. Customs and Border Protection wants to add 25 miles of new lighting along the Rio Grande in West and South Texas.
The agency is asking for public comments on its proposal which would also include almost 20 miles of upgrading current lights and adding river access roads in Starr and El Paso counties.
CBP has given the public through Monday, which is Earth Day, to comment on its plans that the agency says are necessary for border enforcement.
“CBP seeks input on potential impacts to the environment, culture, quality of life and commerce, including potential socioeconomic impacts,” the agency posted on its website.
The agency says it also is conducting data and input from state and local governments, other federal agencies, Native American tribes “and landowners that may be affected by, or otherwise have an interest in, the proposed action” as it prepares an environmental assessment.
Maps posted for planned lighting projects in Starr and El Paso counties do not list exact mileage for each proposed sector’s project.
Proposed plans to add lighting and fix existing non-operational lighting for El Paso, above, and Starr County. (CBP Graphics)
Laiken Jordahl, of the nonprofit Center for Biological Diversity, says his organization opposes adding bright lights, which could affect nocturnal animals as well as migrating birds along the border.
“This kind of stadium bright, high-voltage lighting is well understood to be a major stressor to wildlife,” Jordahl told Border Report on Wednesday. “This lighting would completely disrupt the ecosystems where it would be installed. And Border Patrol needs to take a good hard look at the impacts of this project before moving forward.”
Jordahl is the Southwest Conservation Advocate for this NGO that has filed numerous lawsuits opposing border wall construction. He says they are watching this current plan carefully and could also decide to take legal action.
He says the maps are confusing, and more information needs to be released to the public. He said he would like to know if the areas also follow plans for building 20 miles of new federal border wall in Starr County.
“Border Patrol is asking the scientific community for comments on the harms of lighting, but they’re ignoring the impacts that these border walls will cause,” he said.
He said the “high-stadium lights” could disrupt the viewing of sky observatories in West Texas, as well as the nocturnal habits of desert bats.
“The El Paso area already suffers from some degree of light pollution from the Juarez Valley from the urban El Paso stretches. But adding additional light pollution is exactly the opposite of what we should be doing. We should be mitigating the existing sources of light pollution there in order to restore dark-night skies for people and for wildlife that depend on the natural dark to be able to navigate, to hunt, to feed, and to find mates,” Jordahl said.
He said adding miles of border lights in South Texas could affect the migratory patterns of thousands of wild birds like those found at the Salineño Wildlife Preserve in far western Starr County.
• CBP says comments can be emailed to: CommentsENV@cbp.dhs.gov.
• You may also provide comments, questions, or concerns by calling (888) 322-4958.
• Or by mail: U.S. Customs and Border Protection
U.S. Border Patrol Headquarters
1300 Pennsylvania Ave. 6.5E Mail Stop 1039
Washington, D.C. 20229-1100
ATTN: Michelle Barnes
CBP has already said that 20 miles of planned border wall being built in Starr County will not include construction through the birding preserve, however, Jordahl says lights put up in the area will severely affect birds in the region.
It’s “really important habitat for wildlife, and nocturnal wildlife like birds and bats and ocelots who hunt there. It’s also a critically important migratory flyway used by millions of birds,” he said. “There are tons of scientific studies that show quite clearly that lighting affects birds and their navigation that affects where they nest, it affects how they are hunted. It completely alters their systems, and especially in such a critically important corridor for migratory birds, we should absolutely not be installing new, polluting sources of stadium bright lighting.”
The agency requests comments and data or information “that could help inform CBP’s analysis of potential impacts. Helpful comments are fact-based, include links to data or research, and provide specific information concerning potential impacts to the environment, culture, as well as quality of life and commerce, including potential socioeconomic impacts.”
Sandra Sanchez can be reached at SSanchez@BorderReport.com.