KEEP BIG BEND WILD: Presentation on Protecting Big Bend National Park
Details
KEEP BIG BEND WILD:
Presentation on Protecting Big Bend National Park,
"NOW Is the Time for Wilderness at Big Bend National Park"
Tuesday, March 24, 2026, 7:00pm - 8:30pm
Location: Bay Area Community Center,
5002 E NASA Pkwy, Seabrook, 77586
"NOW Is the Time for Wilderness at Big Bend National Park"
The recent news that the current administration is proposing to extend the Border Wall structure through Big Bend National Park highlights just how precarious protection of our national parks has become. The Border Wall solution now being floated by the administration is incompatible with wilderness and would irreparably harm Big Bend's integrity as a national park. The undeveloped areas of Big Bend National Park that were recommended for wilderness protection more than forty years ago are currently being managed to protect their wild values. However, this is a National Park Service (NPS) administrative decision that could be changed by a future administrative action. These areas are vulnerable to development pressure until Congress formally admits them into the national wilderness system, something only Congress can do.
KEEP BIG BEND WILD's presentation will encompass the need for protecting Big Bend and why wilderness designation is an important tool. KBBW will point out why the administration's massive construction proposal is unnecessary in light of past and ongoing cooperation between the NPS and U.S. Border Patrol which has ensured that NPS's conservation mission and the border security mission of the U.S. Border Patrol are complementary and compatible.
KEEP BIG BEND WILD is a collaborative effort by people who share a common appreciation of BBNP and who want to ensure that the wild character of Big Bend will continue and thrive. Some are locals. Some are retirees from the National Park Service (NPS) at Big Bend and other parks. Others know Big Bend well as visitors or have volunteered at Big Bend. By and large, all of them have returned to Big Bend repeatedly because they care deeply about the future of the park.
Photo courtesy of Al Braden