Editorial: A borderline proposal

Friday, June 1, 2007 | 6:52 a.m.

A p roposed fence along portions of the U.S.-Mexico border might help prevent people from entering the United States illegally, but it also could keep wildlife, including two species of endangered wildcats, from getting to the Rio Grande that sustains them.

Of particular concern is 90,000 acres of scrub forest along the Rio Grande outside of Alamo, Texas, that environmentalists say took decades to acquire and preserve. The area provides crucial habitat and access to the region's sole source of water for about 500 species of birds, desert tortoises and other reptiles and wildcats - including the ocelot and jaguarundi, which are endangered species, The New York Times has reported.

The Homeland Security Department has not decided for certain where the fence would be built, but wildlife officials told the Times that U.S. Border Patrol officials have indicated that a portion of the 70 miles of proposed fencing will be erected on U.S. wildlife refuges that abut the Mexico border.

Bush administration officials have said that environmental concerns will be taken under consideration, but environmental regulations have been waived for national security reasons in other states, the Times reports. Russ Knocke, Homeland Security Department spokesman, said he would waive environmental protections in the Rio Grande Valley if it is deemed necessary.

This is wrong. We agree that the nation's borders must be secure, but it should be done by increasing the Border Patrol's ranks and equipment. In its effort to thwart the efforts of those who would enter the United States illegally, the Bush administration seems willing to sacrifice the nation's own fragile ecosystems and endangered species to build a barrier that would offer more damage than protection.