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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="827f596e171511304b59e582a6532bd6"><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">
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</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">
<iframe width="100%" height="150" scrolling="no" class="rm-shortcode twitter-embed-1096051230516920320" id="twitter-embed-1096051230516920320" type="lazy-iframe" data-runner-src="/res/community/twitter_embed/?iframe_id=twitter-embed-1096051230516920320&created_ts=1550153951.0&screen_name=kristaschlyer&text=Construction+of+%23borderwall+began+this+morning+on+the+La+Parida+tract+of+the+Lower+Rio+Grande+Refuge.+The+forest+is%E2%80%A6+https%3A%2F%2Ft.co%2FF9CuOvfNhs&id=1096051230516920320&name=krista+schlyer" frameborder="0" data-rm-shortcode-id="HL35YZ1576662272"></iframe>
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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="32d4609a7f276c5004b9facbdc327673"><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>
</small>
</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">
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</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="71c8d530611eae4e0e706daf1e79e91a"><div class="fb-video" data-href="https://www.facebook.com/EcoWatch/videos/345706262651120/" data-allowfullscreen="true"></div></div>
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EcoWatch Daily Newsletter
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;
font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:normal; line-height:17px; text-decoration:none;
word-wrap:break-word;" target="_top">National Butterfly Center on Instagram: “Some important information for those concerned with the future border wall.”</a></p>
</div></blockquote></div><p>
"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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