A People's Campaign — Big Bend, West Texas
A plan to build a 111-mile steel wall through Big Bend National Park would permanently sever one of the world's great ecosystems — waiving 28 federal environmental laws with no public review, no comment period, no vote. Republicans and Democrats, ranchers and scientists, Texans and global citizens stand united: this land is sacred, and it belongs to all of us.
Most Urgent
Whether you live in Texas or Tokyo — this park belongs to you. Every call, every share, every dollar creates the political pressure needed to stop this. Here is exactly what to do.
Petition numbers create direct political pressure on members of Congress. Share it with everyone you know. The bigger the number, the louder the message.
Phone calls are 10× more powerful than emails. Two minutes. Be brief and personal. This is a national park — it belongs to Americans in every state, not just Texas.
TX: Cornyn (202) 224-2934 · Cruz (202) 224-5922 →Outrage heard from New York to California to London is meaningful. International parks belong to the world. Your voice matters wherever you live.
Find your representative →Submit public comment. Reference: "Big Bend Border Wall Expansion — Emergency Waiver February 2026." Your comment becomes part of the legal record.
CBP-PublicAffairs@cbp.dhs.gov →The National Parks Conservation Association is fighting in Congress and in court right now. Your donation funds direct legal and advocacy action.
npca.org →Post it, text it, play it at a show. The strongest message: "Local ranchers and sheriffs from both parties oppose this wall." That breaks through every political bubble.
Copy link →Letters to the editor still move politicians. Lead with the bipartisan local opposition and the 28 waived laws — that combination is undeniable and publishable.
Download letter template →The data is clear — and both Republicans and Democrats in the region agree: this plan is not justified by the facts.
"It'll ruin this county. If it's a real wall, it will devastate us. We don't have oil and gas — we have tourism."— Brewster County Sheriff Ronny Dodson, Republican
A Threat to Science & Wonder
Big Bend sits at the heart of the world's largest International Dark Sky Reserve — 10 million acres of protected night sky. Stadium-grade enforcement lighting required for a border wall would permanently destroy one of humanity's last windows to the cosmos. McDonald Observatory — the darkest major observatory in North America — has spent decades fighting to protect these skies. That work would be undone overnight.
Stephen Hummel, Dark Skies Initiative Coordinator at McDonald Observatory, warns that globally the night sky is getting brighter at roughly 10% per year across North America. Big Bend has been the rare success story — communities, energy companies, and parks working together to reverse that trend. Border enforcement lighting would instantly undo decades of that work.
It's not just human stargazers at risk. Hummel notes that artificial light dramatically impacts ecosystems — from bird migration and firefly communication to bear and mountain lion behavior. Introducing stadium-grade lighting into a pristine desert ecosystem is an ecological catastrophe, not just a scenic one.
The Greater Big Bend International Dark Sky Reserve crosses the U.S.-Mexico border — it is a binational achievement built through decades of collaboration between communities, governments, and scientists on both sides. A wall through its heart doesn't just damage the reserve — it tears apart the international partnership that created it.
Operated by the University of Texas at Austin, McDonald Observatory is one of the world's leading centers for astronomical research. It was built here specifically because of the dark skies — and it has spent decades actively protecting them. Its Dark Skies Initiative is a model for the world.
mcdonaldobservatory.org/darkskies →Big Bend Through Our Eyes
Photography from the Big Bend borderlands — these skies, these mountains, this light. This is what a wall would forever change.
All photographs taken from the Big Bend borderlands. © Rio Rising / Amber Dunklin. Share freely with credit.
"People from every nation on Earth have stood at Santa Elena Canyon and felt something shift inside them. That experience — that wonder — belongs to all of us. It cannot be rebuilt once it is gone."— Rio Rising Campaign · #SaveBigBend · #RioRising
What We Stand to Lose
Big Bend is not just beautiful — it is irreplaceable. Once severed, these wildlife corridors, dark skies, and living rivers cannot be restored. This is a one-time decision with consequences that will last for centuries.
Black bears, mountain lions, ocelots, and pronghorn antelope all cross the Rio Grande freely. A wall eliminates genetic exchange between populations — leading to inbreeding and local extinction over generations.
Big Bend sits on the Central Flyway — one of North America's critical migratory routes. Stadium lighting disorients millions of birds annually. Barrier infrastructure disrupts nesting, feeding, and migration patterns.
Bollard walls trap debris in flash floods, worsening erosion and altering natural water flow. Construction runoff threatens one of the most biologically rich river systems in North America. Big Bend flooded catastrophically in 2025.
Big Bend is an International Dark Sky Park. Enforcement lighting would eliminate one of the last truly dark skies in the continental U.S., ending decades of work by McDonald Observatory and regional communities to protect them.
Tourism is the only economy in Brewster, Presidio, and Terrell counties — 801,000 visitors per year generating $70M+ in local spending. Local ranchers and sheriffs from both parties say a wall would be economically catastrophic.
Thousands of years of Jumano, Comanche, and Chisos Apache cultural and archaeological sites exist throughout this region. With the Historic Preservation Act waived, every site has zero legal protection during construction.
U.S. citizens on the American side of the wall would lose access to the Rio Grande — their water source, their fishing grounds, their heritage. A wall separates Americans from their own land.
Big Bend is a UNESCO-recognized biosphere reserve. Visitors come from every country on Earth. The Greater Big Bend Dark Sky Reserve crosses the border into Mexico. This loss would be felt by all of humanity.
Organizations & Links
These organizations are on the front lines — in court, in Congress, and in the community. Your support gives them power. Click through, donate, follow, amplify their work.
The leading national organization defending America's national parks. Their Texas team is actively fighting this expansion in Congress and the courts.
npca.org →A grassroots coalition of local residents, ranchers, and conservationists from the region itself. The most rooted, on-the-ground voice in this fight.
bigbendconservation.org →The University of Texas observatory that has spent decades protecting the world's largest dark sky reserve. Their work would be directly threatened by wall lighting.
mcdonaldobservatory.org/darkskies →Has litigated multiple border wall environmental cases. Legal battles are where walls actually get stopped — your donation funds courtroom fights.
biologicaldiversity.org →Leading advocacy for the wildlife corridors threatened by border infrastructure — specifically the ocelot, black bear, and pronghorn populations at risk here.
defenders.org →Protecting the landscapes and communities of the Texas-Mexico borderlands through conservation easements and deep community organizing.
fronteraland.org →The local newspaper of record — doing the most important on-the-ground reporting. Subscribe and share their stories. Local journalism is the foundation.
bigbendsentinel.com →First to break the DHS waiver story. The essential audio source for community voices and ongoing updates from the borderlands.
marfapublicradio.org →Artists, Creators & Dreamers
This movement is built by people who love this land — musicians, filmmakers, photographers, writers, scientists, and organizers. If you have a gift to give, we need it. Every voice amplifies the chorus.
We are creating a collaborative anthem featuring artists across genres — to be released simultaneously across platforms for maximum reach. We're building short films, social media content kits, graphic campaigns, and live events that keep pressure on until this plan is stopped.
Every voice counts. Whether you have 200 followers or 2 million — your authentic personal story about Big Bend is worth more than any polished ad campaign. That's what moves people.
We are the desert chorus. And we are just getting started.
We use free, accessible platforms that work on any device. Our honest recommendation:
Create a public Channel for announcements + private Group for collaboration. Handles thousands of people, large files, and organized topic threads. Perfect for a growing movement.
Everyone already has it. Best for your core artist team of 20–50 people. Easy voice notes, quick media sharing, and direct coordination.
Organized channels by role (musicians, designers, film), voice rooms for live sessions, and file sharing. Very popular with artists and creators under 40.
Not a chat tool, but essential alongside any of the above. Store the resource guide, content kit, logos, and press materials here so everyone always has access.
Send us a message. Tell us who you are, what you do, and what Big Bend means to you. That's all it takes to join.
Get Involved → riorising@proton.me · Replace with your actual contact before going live