What Will It Take to Stop Trump From Bulldozing Most Diverse Butterfly Center for Border Wall Section Already Funded?

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Bulldozers are expected to arrive at the National Butterfly Center in February or early March. A planned 5.5 mile section of concrete and steel border wall that is already funded will cut straight through the most diverse butterfly sanctuary in the U.S.

Marianna Wright, executive director of the National Butterfly Center believes most Americans are unaware that 33 new miles were funded in the 2018 Omnibus spending bill in March. The National Butterfly Center is on a segment of those 33 new miles, costing roughly $30 million per mile according to Wright.

EcoWatch teamed up with passionate individuals working on the border with the Center for Biological Diversity and the National Butterfly center on Wednesday to educate Facebook Live viewers on what is happening on the grounds. Viewers asked thought-provoking questions and left encouraging comments such as, “Calling my Senators right now.”

“Nature knows no borders,” said Laiken Jordahl, Center for Biological Diversity borderlands campaigner. “Animals have evolved to migrate freely for millennia and now we are proposing quite literally to slice the continent in two with the border wall. To think that we could do something like that free of consequence is delusional.”

Wright states that the morale on the ground right now is “pretty bad.” To date, 28 laws have been waived for border wall construction including the National Environmental Policy Act, the Endangered Species Act, the Clean Water Act and the Clean Air Act.

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“The potential impacts are devastating,” said Wright. “Especially for animals like the ocelot where we have fewer than 80 known in existence.”

Not only will migration routes be divided for hundreds of species, including those endangered such as the jaguar and Mexican gray wolf, but the border wall will divide tribal nations and interfere with the flow of water in certain sections.

[Read to find out 93 endangered species threatened by Trump’s wall.]

“Border walls are horrifically damaging for the environment,” said Jordahl. “If these plans do move forward they will certainly be met with vociferous opposition,” said Jordahl.

As one viewer asked, “Can we stop the construction of what has already been funded?” Jordahl answered with a hopeful response, urging viewers to continue to weigh in to Congress and to show up on the ground and fight when the time comes. He states that we must continue to put pressure on U.S. Customs and Border Protection and make them question the morality of their actions.

“No, we cannot stop this,” said Wright in a comment sent to EcoWatch. “Nothing Trumps eminent domain, so they will seize the property.”

Whether or not we can stop the already funded destruction of the National Butterfly Center is up in the air and resistance plans are pending. However, Jordahl remains hopeful about maintaining #NoBorderWall advocacy.

“I do believe that people can change and I do believe that if we make this project so toxic and so unpalatable, they might reconsider.”

The interview ends on a positive note as Jordahl urges viewers to remember to call their senators, regardless of who they are and to change the narrative whenever speaking about the borders. The borderlands are incredibly biodiverse filled with breathtaking flora and fauna—a true national treasure—and should not be viewed as a dangerous and out of control place.