Trump’s Border Wall Might Impact up to 10,000 Species

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A wall along the entire U.S.-Mexico border could harm thousands of species, according to an article from The Revelator. Untitled image by Steve Hillebrand. Public Domain.

I have shared multiple news stories about the potential impacts of Trump’s border wall on jaguars (Panthera onca). As a recap, jaguars were wiped out of the United States due to excessive hunting. They began reappearing in 1996, and most experts believe that these returning jaguars have all come from Mexico.

If the U.S. builds a giant wall across its entire southern border, it would likely prevent jaguars from moving between the two countries. But it is not just jaguars that would be affected.

According to a May, 2017 article from The Revelator, Trump’s wall could impact up to 10,000 species. These numbers come from Dr. Gerardo C. Ceballos González of the National Autonomous University of Mexico (Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México), who led a team that assembled a list of vertebrate species that the border wall might affect. Dr. Gerardo Ceballos and his team surveyed the entire, 2,000 mile U.S.-Mexico border, and also pulled together the scientific data on species distributions and travel routes in the region.

Dr. Gerardo Ceballos and his team concluded that the border wall would impact 841 known vertebrate species. Importantly, this list does not include fish, plants, or invertebrates. If one adds in these other organisms, Dr. Gerardo Ceballos estimates that the construction and maintenance of the border wall would affect up to 10,000 species – and none of them positively.

If the 10,000 species figure seems incredulous, The Revelator points out that just one of the ecoregions along the U.S.-Mexico border, the Madrean Sky Islands, contains more than 7,000 species.

The Revelator’s original article presents far more information than what I have summarized here. If you want to learn more about the environmental and social impacts of Trump’s proposed border wall, please visit the link below.

Click Here to Read the Original Article by John R. Platt of The Revelator

Published by Josh Gross

Wildlife, social science, conservation, and scicomm.

25 Thoughts

    1. Donald only cares about his agenda and what’s good for his business, which is also what’s good for his owner, Putin. The saddest part though is how over 40% of the country is wholeheartedly behind Donnie Boy, despite everything he’s done and the mounting evidence against him.

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        1. Racism and general bigotry in the US are certainly more pronounced now than they have been in either of our lifetimes, and we seem to have lost much of the progress that the Civil Rights movement accomplished. It’s an absolute shame, and speaks volume’s about Americans’ moral standing. I also hope that we make bette choices in 2020, but I’m not terribly optimistic. Trump is still a god for many white Americans, and if the Democrats pick Elizabeth “Cultural Appropriation” Warren as their presidential nominee – which is likely – then Trump will have a field day.

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          1. I have been saying this to a lot of people that we took 10 steps forward only to be shoved 50 backwards by White Nationalism. Almost everyone else I have said this to disputed it. I’m glad we’re on the same page.

            I suppose all we can do now is hope. There’s still another year or 2 for other candidates to come out of the woodworks. I wish Michelle would run, but we all know that’s not happening.

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          2. Well, I wouldn’t say we’ve been shoved 50 steps backwards by white nationalism, just 8 or 9 – which is still horrible. Apparently school segregation is as bad now as it was in the 1960s:

            https://www.newsweek.com/2018/03/30/school-segregation-america-today-bad-1960-855256.html

            Michelle would be the absolute best president we could ask for…perhaps better than Americans deserve. I imagine that a certain segment of the U.S. populace (that segment with most of the power) would be foaming at the mouth with rage if she ran; Michelle wouldn’t want to put her family through that again.

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          3. It’s sad that it’s only 8 or 9 because we weren’t that far ahead to begin with =|

            I think she would make an excellent president. The kids are grown now though, so maybe she would go for it. Who knows? I don’t think so though. She never even wanted Obama to run for president, for the same reason you mentioned: family.

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          5. I really like that Alexandria lady up in New York. She’s hilarious. She somehow managers to be open, speak her mind and be unconventional while still being the complete opposite of He Who Shall Not Be Named. 😆

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  5. This post is a wake-up call. We tend to forget about our non-human friends when we talk about the repercussions of the border wall. Hope this helps people understand the magnitude of what may happen, If the wall does come up.

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  6. Josh, so happy to discover you and your blog. I get so distressed over TheRUMP and his seeming need to kill everything that breathes. It’s great to meet people who feel as passionately as I do. No wall. no wall. No wall.

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    1. Thanks, Amy! I get very distressed about the Orange One’s antics as well, and even more worried about his cult followers. I’m committed to opposing the wall and the fear it represents for as long as need be, and I’m glad that you are too.

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  7. I think this definitely ties in to your newer post about how big cats are “ecosystem engineers”. Without them, beetles and vultures won’t have carcasses to feed off and we could potentially have a whole different ecosystem in N america.

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