Defenders of Wildlife Releases New Report: Impacts of a Border Wall on Wildlife, Wild Lands and Binational Conservation

Defenders of Wildlife’s new report, In the Shadow of the Wall, details the impacts to wildlife that an impenetrable border wall would have along the 2,000-mile border. The U.S.-Mexico border passes through regions rich in biological diversity where communities have engaged in conservation work for decades. The border wall puts this legacy at risk. To underscore all that is at stake, Defenders of Wildlife identified five Borderlands Conservation Hotspots along the border's path from the Pacific Ocean to the Gulf of Mexico.

Jamie Rappaport Clark, Former president and CEO of Defenders of Wildlife, issued this statement:

“Our report details the complex and vibrant biodiversity of lands and wildlife along our southern border from the Pacific Ocean to the Gulf of Mexico. Simply put, a wasteful and damaging border wall would destroy wildlife habitat and bisect border communities.

“The Trump administration’s border wall would divide families and communities along the border and jeopardize wildlife, habitat and years of conservation progress and collaboration between the United States and Mexico. We cannot allow that to happen.”