The National Butterfly Center in Mission, Texas is not only a sanctuary to some 200 species of butterflies, it's also a home for the area's other unique wildlife.
With border wall construction imminent, the center posted a two-minute video featuring a bobcat living in the facility's southern 70 acres that will be cut off by the barrier once it's built.
<div class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="7937ffb515eac1b487f199129c33c9aa"><div class="fb-video" data-href="https://www.facebook.com/natbutterflies/videos/250932149165313/" data-allowfullscreen="true"></div></div>
<p>"Little does this bobcat know," the center states in the video, "its ability to hunt, find shelter, find a mate and raise its young is about to be drastically affected by a concrete and steel wall it will never be able to get past."<br></p><p>
What's more, the center noted, the floodlights that will be installed along the wall will "light up the entire area like a war zone all night long."
</p><p>
<span></span>The underlying message of the clip is the U.S.-Mexico barrier's negative impact to native species and the surrounding environment.
</p><p>
<span></span>The <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/trump">Trump</a> administration waived 28 environmental laws including the Endangered Species Act in order to build 33 more miles of wall in the Rio Grande Valley, including a 5.5-mile concrete and steel barrier through the butterfly refuge. The project was funded by last year's congressional appropriations.
</p><p>
<span></span>The National Butterfly Center Director Marianna Wright told the <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/dec/13/butterfly-sanctuary-border-wall-mission-texas" target="_blank">Guardian</a> that the wall's construction would harm the butterflies as well as other species like the Texas tortoise, Texas indigo snake and Texas horned lizard that also find refuge on the center's land.
</p><p>
The butterfly sanctuary has filed an emergency restraining order on Monday to halt the construction, the <a href="https://www.texasobserver.org/butterfly-trump-restraining-order-lawsuit-border-wall-texas/" target="_blank">Texas Observer</a> reported. The center is also urging supporters to call their senators and representatives to stop any further border wall funding.
</p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-twitter_embed">
</p><div id="0e401" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="7FHWVW1576662272"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1095384451960446978" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">A 2017 study by the Center for Biological Diversity looking at the potential impact of the wall on 93 threatened or… https://t.co/wJzVEDBhA6</div> — Center for Bio Div (@Center for Bio Div)<a href="https://twitter.com/CenterForBioDiv/statuses/1095384451960446978">1549994979.0</a></blockquote></div>
<p></p><p>
Meanwhile, the center wrote in a <a href="https://www.facebook.com/natbutterflies/posts/2336844076349304?__xts__%5B0%5D=68.ARBrKxfdh_oakopn03Odak9DYo3GpeqsXvz2Upli_9EJQciHOm_THx75fWZowsYhhg7NIulW7GVxlDW5GtEzVbOCXmM6EvQyS0FAqGqB3_in31QqeiwCkIB4ZxVeckOM-nm9ABZY9SQX3bkvv35WQ-LWUFN-IXnHD5BkG1JZOjKRQlmKEk-SNx7nfxAUrHo9zzQ-0v-sU11n3-P6_suUunlC6eErrHMGUJAbMNOaBglOVoGRpZDefAxyMxZFOQb6OVlDC4kuC_9MHk2p5LdsvYomzjal7fvQcCtQIH8XLpfuGKEG3MGLV0uz4LdbQ3JG8QC_DuYzORSivPQNLGW0OIWwK4JLTj1TFBHaMg&__tn__=-R" target="_blank">Facebook post</a> on Thursday that trees were being taken down in their section of the Lower Rio Grande Valley Wildlife Conservation Corridor, "a remnant of native habitat set aside for species protection."
</p><p>
The post also included a Facebook live video from writer and conservation photographer <a href="https://www.facebook.com/krista.schlyer?__tn__=K-R&eid=ARAgyWISSRxOdGcpYO7OGhyN9vx_42Z373Vb9vMz9Fqyu2OWRhzozkOfpwnrFJX2cnthHiX8GhKPc2G1&fref=mentions&__xts__%5B0%5D=68.ARCXbkhpdF-H4b9TDwnfldnrzTv3hVOlKSS0J1dRtSZjo9oAwRVPQuQQ-_5yR9coB_Mvse8JCZvMSRliwws2mSEY4sBlcp9GSAsfVE3AdG_79mRkJlnZVLmfpzSeO_tjWeLHmDDD14ddlmJ02CGIy35czZRat7vTDeW_5XvujRi65GBSfrYWuLL8UpSAwylWoSKJZZJ14g2jDT7KIoI-i75fEyDMmb1ay_uzxbfpaPwzDddYS366Am4PsDN5_YCowkdwEf96zCGJ4r9NRAidAPJFTKoPQixPKs4x60E8GPVFKD52gsKSYwZMddOeLEWm0YP5n0hMof2n_LWgeKTCzBieigetbLhkswM5_w" target="_blank">Krista Schlyer</a>, who went to the site to observe the construction work. Schlyer said in a <a href="https://www.facebook.com/krista.schlyer/videos/10156046106228779/" target="_blank">later video</a> that authorities escorted her away from the construction site.
</p><p>
"They really don't want me to see what's going on back there," she said.
</p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-twitter_embed">
</p><div id="e37d2" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="HL35YZ1576662272"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1096051230516920320" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">Construction of #borderwall began this morning on the La Parida tract of the Lower Rio Grande Refuge. The forest is… https://t.co/F9CuOvfNhs</div> — krista schlyer (@krista schlyer)<a href="https://twitter.com/kristaschlyer/statuses/1096051230516920320">1550153951.0</a></blockquote></div>
<p></p>
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An excavator shows up at the National Butterfly Center in Mission, Texas. National Butterfly Center / Facebook
Construction equipment has arrived to build a border wall through the National Butterfly Center in Mission, Texas, a protected habitat for more than 200 species of wild butterflies and other unique wildlife.
A planned 5.5 mile section of concrete and steel border wall that is already funded will cut off 70 percent of the 100-acre property. The barrier will be built on top of a levee of the Rio Grande that runs through the sanctuary.
<p>
An excavator and eight law enforcement units arrived around the center on Sunday, the National Butterfly Center wrote in a <a href="https://www.facebook.com/natbutterflies/posts/2319958811371164" target="_blank">Facebook post</a>.
</p><p>
"Effective Monday morning, it is all government land," a Mission police department officer said, according to the post.
</p><p>Bulldozing for the wall, which is expected to be about three stories tall, will commence any day now, the center wrote in another
<a href="https://www.facebook.com/natbutterflies/posts/2322889944411384?__xts__%5B0%5D=68.ARBy6zZb58xzCn-uDj2-gWZru7SG7aP2op2O7GviX--14o934idK-m9mdmBKlOkMcr7RNYk-Fce3I2ul1VP8sobGQwahc2ymCA2iqLSKxK5HYlz5o8c62dQ-pJTq5_pU2YHA3o4VJepsHPfaO9uzCtOEdXscQMPu4TcDbrSFl6V9g-3kkfYVhaLbfssGVC-7AB6-tn54p-H1ls5qORumzrHbsvhqUVX3w8THPSkHmfLuEasxasgdWdnmRnOEqbLJD0DP5D7YuPGKBAmMn3v6I6le7793h8eXVa-UhGEMn71b8fT4yz06rG3qXxVZgQJxPO7rQTnKSKdFEAjkmEEHmj3V6YWGzAHZisZhrIsITGYXkJQkqe2M2UClK8ZsixroXI4R5xKJ1f4NkVqBRPbVwJQPjo_kvTVxSA5ShiUMWCL0vbrQQj90uopZV9yeh3CGxslYPnnJgfW-02YWlWOCvt7kA6rrd_7nQrzfb4tu3c3u1sr7Uc3ZRaqzYiDc2Ctk4yrozV4rHvqA6mJf6Cs7DC0KsPK78MZ1cSE0aYSmPw&__tn__=-R" target="_blank">post</a> on Tuesday.</p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-youtube">
<span style="display:block;position:relative;padding-top:56.25%;" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="c36459e2f54f8959112add06543c754d"><iframe type="lazy-iframe" data-runner-src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/xzgh-mOlLx4?rel=0" width="100%" height="auto" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" style="position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;"></iframe></span>
<small class="image-media media-caption" placeholder="add caption...">National Butterfly Center faces uncertainty as heavy equipment arrives</small>
<small class="image-media media-photo-credit" placeholder="add photo credit...">
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xzgh-mOlLx4" target="_blank">www.youtube.com</a>
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</p><p>On Monday, as the construction equipment was off-loaded, roughly 35 local tribal members marched to the center in protest of the project, the
<a href="https://www.expressnews.com/news/local/article/First-signs-of-border-wall-construction-spotted-13587300.php" target="_blank">San Antonio Express-News</a> reported.<br></p><p>
Juan Mancias, the tribal chair of Carrizo Comecrudo, told the publication he did not expect construction to begin "this soon."
</p><p>
"You come over here, you see the butterflies here, the animals here, and you also see gravesites that have been here since 1865," Mancias said.
</p><p>
In federal documents seen by the publication, the barrier's construction includes a 150-foot-wide "enforcement zone" that could negatively impact gravesites of Mancias' ancestors buried at a nearby cemetery.
</p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-twitter_embed">
</p><div id="fb710" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="S5UTM51576683766"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1092470110416236544" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">Native American protesters marched to the National Butterfly Center in South Texas this morning to protest border w… https://t.co/VQsZIijpqP</div> — Gus Bova (@Gus Bova)<a href="https://twitter.com/bova_gus/statuses/1092470110416236544">1549300146.0</a></blockquote></div>
<p></p><p>
The butterfly center's fate was sealed in December when the Supreme Court declined to hear a case brought by the
<a href="https://www.biologicaldiversity.org/" target="_blank">Center for Biological Diversity</a>, the <a href="https://aldf.org/" target="_blank">Animal Legal Defense Fund</a> and <a href="https://defenders.org/" target="_blank">Defenders of Wildlife</a> to <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/border-wall-mexico-2540848560.html" target="_self">appeal a federal court</a> decision that the Trump administration can waive 28 environmental laws including the Endangered Species Act, the Safe Drinking Water Act, the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act, in order to build 33 more miles of wall, including the section that runs through the refuge. </p><p>The project was funded in the 2018 Omnibus spending bill in March.</p><p>
In a recent Facebook Live with EcoWatch, Marianna Wright, executive director of the National Butterfly Center said morale on the ground was "pretty bad."
</p><p>
<span></span>"The potential impacts are devastating," Wright continued. "Especially for animals like the ocelot where we have fewer than 80 known in existence."
</p><p>
If you'd like to help, the center has started a
<a href="https://www.gofundme.com/protect-the-national-butterfly-center" target="_blank">Go Fund Me</a> to protect <span></span>the site.
</p><div class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="74f858f22c1ce3e1a73b5d61c70dfb07"><div class="fb-video" data-href="https://www.facebook.com/EcoWatch/videos/345706262651120/" data-allowfullscreen="true"></div></div>
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SDI Productions / E+ / Getty Images
Kids are the ones that will be inheriting the world from us. Getting them invested early in protecting the environment will ensure that their curiosity and interest will live on once they become adults.
Figuring out how to introduce the concept of renewable energy to kids can be tricky. The more significant challenge comes down to getting kids interested and excited versus putting them on the receiving end of another lecture.
It will take a bit of planning and creativity, but there are ways to get children interested in renewable energy even at a young age.
<h2>What to Explain</h2><p>The concepts you plan on teaching children should be age-appropriate. An elementary schooler doesn't need to know the inner complexities of thermodynamics. Start small and slowly build into the topics you want to cover. </p><h3>Start With Sustainability</h3><p>Leaping straight into renewable energy is a quick way to lose a kid's interest. If you start throwing around terms they don't understand, they will quickly tune out. Depending on their age, you may even get an eye roll.</p><p>Sustainability means something can continue to exist for an indefinite amount of time. Gardening is an easy example to present to children for this concept. If a tomato is grown, that tomato contains seeds. Those seeds can be replanted, and the cycle will continue. </p><p>Once they understand the <a href="https://www.epa.gov/sustainability/learn-about-sustainability" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">concept of sustainability</a>, you can move on to the next step. </p><h3>Continue With Energy Sustainability</h3><p>Now that sustainability is a familiar concept, start leading them into how it applies to energy. </p><p>Most, if not all, children today know the basics of electricity as it applies to charging items they interact with, like tablets or even smartphones. Explaining to them that energy is where electricity comes from shouldn't take more than a couple of minutes. </p><p>If you want to continue the gardening analogy for continuity's sake, it's adaptable. Using energy sources like natural gas, fossil fuels, and oil, you will still get tomatoes. However, these tomatoes don't have seeds. Eventually, you won't even be able to grow tomatoes due to a lack of seeds. </p><p>Other ways of explaining it may be easier depending on the children. The key factor they need to learn is that the current energy sources are not sustainable. </p><h3>End With the Types of Renewable Energy</h3><p>There are five primary renewable energy types, but you don't want to introduce them all to kids in one go. Be sure to fully explore all of them so the kids can grasp how and why each one is an option. </p><p>The primary types of renewable energy to include in your discussion include:</p><ul class="ee-ul"><li><strong>Solar </strong>- solar energy is one of the <a href="https://www.seia.org/initiatives/about-solar-energy" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">most popular forms</a> of renewable energy and one of the easiest to teach kids about. Turning the sun's rays into electricity is sure to catch their interest. Teach them about how solar panels capture the heat and light (even on cloudy days) and convert all of that into usable energy. You can even describe how astronauts in space rely on solar energy on the International Space Station.</li></ul><ul class="ee-ul"><li><strong>Hydro</strong> - this is another easy renewable energy to explain. It's a rare child that hasn't interacted with a creek or river at some point. Explain that the <a href="https://www.usgs.gov/special-topic/water-science-school/science/hydroelectric-power-how-it-works?qt-science_center_objects=0#qt-science_center_objects" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">constant movement of the water</a> from the current can be converted into usable energy. </li></ul><ul class="ee-ul"><li><strong>Wind</strong> - show a child a picture of those <a href="https://www.nationalgeographic.org/encyclopedia/wind-energy/#:~:text=Wind%20energy%2C%20or%20wind%20power,a%20generator%20to%20create%20electricity.&text=These%20turbines%20can%20generate%201.8%20megawatts%20of%20power." rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">massive wind turbines</a> and they're bound to be curious. The wind turns the blades of the fan, much like a pinwheel, which then creates energy that we can use. Really get them thinking about the world around them and how something as simple as the wind can be turned into energy.</li></ul><ul class="ee-ul"><li><strong>Geothermal</strong> - geothermal energy may require a bit of extra explanation if the children haven't learned about <a href="https://www.power-technology.com/features/what-is-geothermal-energy/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">the earth's core</a> and how hot it is. If they already know about that, then you can show them how pipes that go deep into the ground run steam from this heat up into plants that turn it into electricity. </li></ul><ul class="ee-ul"><li><strong>Biomass</strong> - biomass renewable energy is as simple as burning a source of fuel, so most of this explanation will be what they set on fire and how do they get it. The fuel for these fires comes from <a href="https://www.eia.gov/energyexplained/biomass/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">byproducts of plants and animals</a>. Manure, crops, and other waste can all apply here. </li></ul><h2>How to Explain It</h2>
<p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-rebelmouse-image">
<img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yNTg1MTkwMS9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYyMjg4NTM5MX0.swm2cINlaaaNKJjxzLuu_K1wzCfq99qOZt-HiO6CY-c/img.jpg?width=980" id="2099b" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="bda350e50ebf4cbc7ab2252282f8e708" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" data-width="1280" data-height="754">
<small class="image-media media-photo-credit" placeholder="Add Photo Credit...">Stanislaw Pytel / Stone / Getty Images</small></p>
<p>Now that you know the basics, it's time to pass that on to the kids. The big question is, how are you supposed to make all of this sound cool enough to get the kids interested in renewable energy?<br></p><h3>Online Resources</h3><p>Kids tend to be more into visual learning, so just telling them about these concepts isn't going to make anything stick. </p><p>There are a plethora of options online that can help teach children about renewable energy. Educational games are a great pick to get them interacting with the information, but YouTube videos or simple animations can do the trick as well. </p><p>You can use these resources to help kids understand the big picture. Or, you can find videos and games revolving around specific steps like how exactly river currents can provide energy or why fossil fuels aren't sustainable. </p><h3>DIY Projects</h3><p>This is one of the best options you can choose to teach kids about renewable energy. Helping them create a science project to test out an aspect of renewable energy will be sure to hold their interest. A hands-on approach always helps with getting the information to stick. </p><p>Try these projects for an immersive adventure in alternative energy:</p><ul class="ee-ul"><li><strong>Build a mini water wheel</strong> - the water wheel has been used throughout history, and <a href="https://learning-center.homesciencetools.com/article/how-to-make-a-water-wheel-science-project/" target="_blank">having kids build their own</a> is a great way to teach how hydropower is created. It can be as simple or as complex as you want, but used popsicle sticks can be turned into a wheel in a pinch. Having a nearby creek or river will be the most immersive way to test this project, but using the water in your sink will get the job done. </li><li><strong>Purify water</strong> - this is an effortless <a href="https://www.clearwaycommunitysolar.com/blog/science-center-home-experiments-for-kids/science-center-creating-clean-water/" target="_blank">multi-day project</a> to set up and will help you explain how versatile the heat from solar energy is. All you need is two containers (one smaller than the other), some water, food coloring, plastic wrap, and a rock. Long story short, the sun's heat will cause condensation and create a container of purified water. Bonus points if you can show the same results with your stove to show that the energy used naturally is more sustainable. </li><li><strong>Build a wind turbine</strong> - while you won't be able to make it as large as actual wind turbines, this is still a sure way to show how efficient it is to harness the wind's power. The items you use to build this can vary greatly but cut-up plastic water bottles tend to make solid fan blades. Once you and the kids have <a href="https://www.clearwaycommunitysolar.com/blog/science-center-home-experiments-for-kids/create-wind-turbine/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">created the wind turbine</a> just take it outside and watch the wind spin it around! A pinwheel works if you'd just rather explain with an example, but the act of building the wind turbine will work wonders. </li><li><strong>Cook using a campfire </strong>- this may sound more like a leisurely activity than a science experiment, but that was before you told the kids about using biomass for renewable energy. Unless you have casual access to manure, the fuel can just be dead branches and leaves you might find lying around. As you use the fire's heat to cook (something that requires electricity with the stove) you can show that the fuel to provide the heat came from dead plants that will eventually regrow the lost leaves and branches used. However, be sure to point out the smoke caused by the fire and how any fuel source that creates too much of that can be harmful to people and the planet.</li></ul><h3>Take a Field Trip</h3><p>Field trips don't just have to be school-organized. See if you can find a day to take your child (or students) to a <a href="https://www.smithsonianmag.com/travel/where-to-take-a-tour-of-the-worlds-power-plants-73950581/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">nearby renewable energy plant</a>. Many of these locations are willing to give tours or educate interested people about what they do there. </p><p>This is also an excellent way to get free knowledge directly from the experts. They can answer any questions your kids may have that you would need some extensive researching to answer. It's also engaging for the children to directly see the process that they've been learning about. </p><h3>Show the Impact of Non-Renewable Energy</h3><p>This is far more effective when the children in question love animals and nature, but it can be useful regardless. Showing them videos of how things like pollution and global warming negatively impact nature can inspire them to start learning about renewable energy to help prevent it. </p><h3>Be a Role Model</h3><p>Kids do quite a bit of learning just from observing what the adults in their lives do. How you utilize energy in your day-to-day life can greatly help or hinder the learning process for the kids around you. </p><p>It's not an option for everyone, but many people are beginning to have solar panels installed on the roof of their house. Explaining to kids that their phones charge by way of the power of the sun is sure to get them interested in the overall process. </p><p>One way anyone can be a role model is to conserve energy where they can. Once your children know that most energy comes from non-renewable sources, they will realize why you always want lights off when not in use or when you try to keep your energy bills low (besides money). </p><h2>How to Keep Them Interested</h2>
<p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-rebelmouse-image">
<img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yNTg1MTk0MS9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYzMjI0NDg4OX0.K1S76m_b0S56QYTGw6beYEJp3xhIphpxJCCyO8uZGMg/img.jpg?width=980" id="79bc7" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="973b8852e7a121179246f94da72aa6f8" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" data-width="1280" data-height="762">
<small class="image-media media-photo-credit" placeholder="Add Photo Credit...">JGI/Jamie Grill / Getty Images</small></p>
<p>Now that you have the children interested in renewable energy, you'll have to make sure that interest continues to grow as time goes on. Unless they completely fell in love with the concept, they may start to forget important information if you don't keep them engaged.<br></p><h3>Have a Weekly Theme</h3><p>This has the dual purpose of keeping children interested and getting them to look forward to learning. </p><p>Give each week a theme that you can base activities and games around. Wind Week could involve some time at the park messing around with kites, or Hydro Week could be learning new aspects of hydroelectricity like how the tides can be used as well. </p><h3>Home Improvement Projects</h3><p>You shouldn't trust a group of young ones to go and install solar panels on the roof, but there are smaller projects around the house or classroom that you can do with them so that they feel they are directly contributing to using clean energy.</p><p>These projects don't even have to be big ones. It could be as simple as swapping out your current light bulbs for more energy-efficient ones. The key is to make children feel involved in the process and let them know exactly how these projects are helping. </p><h3>Make Games</h3><p>One of the best ways to get children interested in anything is to make a game of it. </p><p>Whether it's at home or in the classroom, a game will get them involved in an activity that could continue to teach them about renewable energy. It could be as simple as a made-up card game or as complex as setting up stations around the yard and have them decide which energy would work best at each station. </p><p>Some kids also enjoy incentives, so don't be afraid to offer some sort of prize or reward if they do well in the games. </p><h2>Keep Your Kids Invested in Clean Energy</h2><p>It can be a challenge teaching complex concepts to kids, especially if you want them to take an interest in it. Start by breaking down the basic concepts so that you can have good conversations with them about renewable energy. </p><p>Kids learn best from visuals and by hands-on learning. Showing them videos, designing and creating projects, and even taking them to a renewable energy plant are all great ways for them to learn. Just remember, they also need a role model to look up to if they are going to take a true interest. </p><p>They may stay interested on their own, but there are ways that you as a parent or teacher can help that along. Creating fun ways to bring the subject back around like setting up games, projects, or weekly topics can go a long way towards keeping them interested and invested in renewable energy.</p>
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What Will It Take to Stop Trump From Bulldozing Most Diverse Butterfly Center for Border Wall Section Already Funded?
21 December 2018
Facebook Videos
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.
<p>
EcoWatch <a href="https://www.facebook.com/EcoWatch/videos/345706262651120/" target="_blank">teamed up</a> 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."
</p><p>
"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."<br>
</p><p>
Wright states that the morale on the ground right now is "pretty bad." To date, 28 laws have been <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/border-wall-mexico-2540848560.html" target="_blank">waived for border wall construction</a> including the National Environmental Policy Act, the Endangered Species Act, the Clean Water Act and the Clean Air Act.
</p><div id="4c7ea" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="NPZE7R1576662594"><blockquote class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-captioned="" data-instgrm-version="4" style=" background:#FFF; border:0;
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<a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/Bqocw_MAUgx/" style=" color:#000; font-family:Arial,sans-serif;
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word-wrap:break-word;" target="_top">National Butterfly Center on Instagram: “Some important information for those concerned with the future border wall.”</a></p>
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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."<br>
</p><p>
Not only will migration routes be divided for hundreds of species, including those endangered such as the <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/trump-mexico-wall-jaguars-2216942406.html" target="_blank">jaguar</a> and Mexican gray <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/mexico-border-wall-2468270508.html">wolf</a>, but the border wall will divide tribal nations and interfere with the flow of water in certain sections.
</p><p><em><a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/trump-border-wall-endangered-species-2410320620.html" target="_blank">[Read to find out 93 endangered species threatened by Trump's wall.]</a></em></p><p>
"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.
</p><p>
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 <a href="https://www.cbp.gov/contact" target="_blank">put pressure on U.S. Customs and Border Protection</a> and make them question the morality of their actions.
</p><p>
"No, we cannot stop this," said Wright in a comment sent to EcoWatch. "Nothing Trumps eminent domain, so they will seize the property."
</p><p>
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.
</p><p>
"I do believe that people can change and I do believe that if we make <a href="http://www.nowall.org" target="_blank">this project</a> so toxic and so unpalatable, they might reconsider."
</p><p>
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.
</p>
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