A group of six former superintendents of Big Bend National Park are warning about the Trump administration's border security plans for the park, which recently revealed details show include the construction of over 200 miles of patrol roads, vehicle barriers along stretches of the Rio Grande and a network of surveillance and lighting systems.
In a June 15 letter to Department of Homeland Security Sec. Markwayne Mullin, the former superintendents expressed their concern over the recent waiving of over two dozen federal laws to fast-track the building of barriers and roads and offered alternatives.
"It is still possible to enhance border security in Big Bend National Park without destroying what makes it one of America's most treasured landscapes," the former park leaders wrote.
As described in a post requesting public comments on U.S. Customs and Border Protection's plans, the patrol roads – which could reach up to 24-feet wide and be equipped with "detection technology" – would span across 205 miles of the park and nearby areas.
The construction for the new roads would begin just west of Big Bend National Park – in the Madera Canyon area of Big Bend Ranch State Park – and continue through the national park and into southeast Brewster County.
"This will go down in the record books, this will be remembered for centuries as a desecration of what many people call 'America's best idea," Bob Krumenaker, the most recent former Big Bend superintendent and current chair of the conservation group Keep Big Bend Wild, said in an interview.
According to CBP, the agency's Big Bend Sector has seen just 2% of the overall number of border apprehensions so far for the 2026 fiscal year.
"It's challenging to make sense of their wanting to build such massive infrastructure in a place that gets less illegal activity than any other section of the U.S.-Mexico border," Krumenaker said.
To facilitate construction, CBP says it would also need "staging areas and laydown yards," stretches of land that would be cleared to hold construction materials and equipment.
It's unclear where within Brewster County the federal government is planning to stage barrier materials, although in neighboring Jeff Davis County, crews have recently cleared a plot of land that appears to be holding steel border wall panels.
In their letter to Sec. Mullin, Krumenaker and the other former superintendents said the clearing of land will "unnecessarily damage park resources and cause permanent visual scars."
It's also uncertain what CBP's plan for constructing patrol roads, particularly near the more rugged and steep terrain in Big Bend National Park would involve, but some worry it could include the use of explosives to clear terrain for road construction.
The current map detailing where the federal government plans to construct patrol roads, shows the path running through Mariscal Canyon.
Krumenaker said he couldn't imagine construction crews "trying to get up those steep slopes without blasting" the land.
In a statement, a CBP spokesperson said the agency will "improve existing public and park roads where possible to maintain agent access along the border."
"Improvements will include all-weather roads in some areas and paved roads where needed for drainage and erosion control," the agency said.
"We're going to see the destruction of the cultural history of this place, of the archaeological record, at a level I don't think we've ever experienced before," said Laiken Jordahl, a national parks advocate with the Center for Biological Diversity.
Jordahl said construction would be the "single biggest butchering of an American national park that we've seen in generations" and urged Texas Senators Ted Cruz and John Cornyn to step in.
"They could save Big Bend. And if Cruz and Cornyn start speaking up, it's going to open the door to so many other Republicans across the country," said Jordahl. "Do these guys want to have on their permanent records that they oversaw the permanent destruction of Big Bend National Park?"
In a recent interview with the news outlet NOTUS, Sen. Cornyn said he was still "unclear" about the administration's plans for the Big Bend region.
"I thought they had an agreement not to build fencing on 3,000-foot cliffs, and then I've seen some information lately which makes me doubt that's a done deal, so I'm a little unclear on where it stands and what their intentions are, but we're going to reach out to the administration, trying to get some clarity on that," Cornyn told NOTUS.
Marfa Public Radio has reached out to Cornyn's office for an interview on the topic.
The border plans also include the construction of utility poles near the Boquillas port of entry, which CBP says will be powered by "grid power connected through an underground conduit." However, the former park superintendents question the efficacy of that plan in an area where the grid is "notoriously unreliable."
As part of the CBP's border plan, the agency might also construct bridges for "access across canyons or ravines." They also foresee the need for water for construction and to "maintain air quality near the project" although it is unclear whether they plan to truck in water or rely on local resources.
The window to submit public input on the border barrier plans for Brewster County is open until July 13.
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