No further border barrier construction will occur in Big Bend National Park through at least August 31, 2026, US Customs & Border Protection (CBP) & Department of Homeland Security (DHS) say in federal court filings ahead of the next hearing on challenges by opponents set for Friday, August 28, 2026. (Major hat tip to Marfa Public Radio General Manager Travis Bubenik for calling attention via x.com to these latest filings in the ongoing battle over this project).
“All activity within the Park is paused until August 31, 2026, at minimum, and the work that occurred prior to the pause was limited to pre-construction activities such as clearing vegetation to create passable routes for geotechnical surveys and to access the project alignment.” -US Department of Homeland Security (August 24, 2026)
However, a considerable amount of damage in formerly pristine areas of the national park has already been done by these “pre-construction activities,” as Big Bend nature photographer Natalie Newman is documenting on her Facebook and Instagram pages.
She has recorded the screams of the earth and the heavy earth-moving equipment as contractors tore through the park beginning earlier this month. And, like many who live in (or just love) the beauty of the Big Bend, witnessing the destruction that has occurred there (and may resume there) has at times brought her to tears.
She has documented rows of heavy machinery tearing through the sensitive landscape of the Big Bend National Park alongside the Rio Grande. This construction activity occurred where steep cliffs loom large on the Mexican side of the river. Opponents of the project contend this natural “border wall” already prevents illegal crossings into the park, making the entire project unnecessary.
Natalie Newman’s photos show the extent of the damage federal contractors have done to fragile and formerly untouched areas within the national park. They have stripped vegetation down to the bare sand of the desert floor in large swathes along the Rio Grande.
As she has pointed out in one of her videos, this damage is occurring in a riparian corridor where birds seek shelter - and is occurring during nesting season.
Large trees have thoughtlessly been brought to the ground in some sections. The contractors appeared intent on plowing a straight line instead of steering around them.
Again, this is what the government calls “pre-construction” work.
The damage to the park Natalie Newman documented through aerial photos is even more alarming.
Near the Big Bend National Park’s Solis Takeout and the popular Solis Primitive Campground, the landscape has been deeply scarred. The damage they have caused there is likely irreversible.
She has also documented what many locals believe is evidence of unnecessary damage being done by construction workers plowing swathes parallel to existing roads in the park. Roads Border Patrol Agents use now (as they have for years) to monitor the park.
And, in case you're wondering, it’s unlikely all of these paths being plowed through the park are for the vehicle barriers as shown in the photo below (as opposed to a full-blown wall) the government plans to install there.
For one thing, they’ve plowed a path up the rugged Mariscal Mountain, where there is no reason to build a vehicle barrier, as documented by the Center for Biological Diversity’s Laiken Jordahl (who, like Natalie Newman, is posting regular construction/destruction updates to his Facebook page).
For another, the Big Bend National Park vehicle barriers are proposed in six segments scattered throughout the park, and it’s difficult to connect where the Trump Administration wants to place them versus plowing up a mountain as pictured above, where it is unlikely anyone in a vehicle would attempt to cross.
But for now, with considerable damage already done, construction remains paused, with another hearing on opposition to the project scheduled for Friday in federal court.
What are your thoughts about the Border Barrier construction in Big Bend National Park?
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