At Big Bend National Park, bulldozers begin clearing pristine desert land for border barrier work

John Rakowitz waves a 'Don't tread on Big Bend' flag at a rally at Big Bend National Park, a pristine pocket of the West Texas border where the federal government is looking to build patrol roads, vehicle barriers and surveillance systems. Carlos Morales/For NPR hide caption

BIG BEND NATIONAL PARK, Texas – At the foot of Santa Elena Canyon – perhaps the most iconic and photographed stretch of Big Bend National Park – Joan Stutts Escamilla sits in silence by the edge of the Rio Grande.

"It's such a god-given gift," the 70-year-old said, looking up at the canyon's 1,500-foot tall limestone cliffs. "There's just nothing, there's nothing else like this."

But within the last week , federal contractors have moved heavy machinery into the national park , bulldozing through desert shrubs and clearing ecologically sensitive land.

Bright pink ribbons now mark a construction path where willow and mesquite trees once stood.

The $1.7 billion construction plans include a combination of vehicle barriers, winding patrol roads and new surveillance technology.

It's all part of the Trump administration's effort to stop illegal border crossings into the U.S. The Trump administration is bypassing environmental laws for the project. This month a federal judge declined to block construction.

Just north of Big Bend National Park, work crews clear land for a staging site holding excavators, bulldozers and trailers. Carlos Morales/for NPR hide caption

In the Big Bend area, the plans have ignited an impassioned coalition of landowners , outdoor enthusiasts and business owners – people across the political spectrum – who all say any work in the national park would forever change the rugged and beloved land often called "Texas' gift to the nation."

"If we lose places like Big Bend, we never get them back," said Laiken Jordahl with the Center for Biological Diversity, a national conservation nonprofit currently suing the federal government over its border barrier projects. "The destruction that will be inflicted here will truly be irreparable."

The Trump administration's initial plans for Big Bend National Park included the construction of 30-foot walls . Following a widespread outcry , contractors will now build patrol roads, vehicle barriers and surveillance systems, according to details shared by Customs and Border Protection.

In a statement to NPR, CBP Commissioner Rodney Scott said the work is intended to help border patrol "detect illegal crossings, respond faster, and assist visitors in danger."

But illegal border crossings in the Big Bend Sector – an area covering 517 miles along the U.S.-Mexico border – have dropped significantly.

According to CBP, they made up the fewest number of encounters along the Texas border in fiscal year 2025. Within the national park itself, the number is even lower, according to a local advocacy group.

Commissioner Scott said that what people are seeing within the park right now is related to survey and design work and not construction. The purpose of the new infrastructure, he said, is to secure the park and "protect its legacy."

Joan Stutts Escamilla sits in silence by the edge of the Rio Grande near the iconic limestone cliffs of Santa Elena Canyon. "It's such a god-given gift," said Escamilla. Carlos Morales/for NPR hide caption

"We already have effective border security here," said Bernadette Devine, a local educator and former river guide, who is calling on the state's top politicians to help stop the construction.

Republican Sen. John Cornyn last week asked federal officials to meet with locals before moving forward with any additional work here.

Gov. Greg Abbott's office didn't respond to NPR's recent requests for comment on the work within the national park, and instead shared a previous comment on the area. "Rugged, isolated areas like Big Bend are great opportunities to deploy technology to aid in securing the border," the governor's press secretary, Andrew Mahaleris said.

Retired wildlife biologist Raymond Skiles, who spent decades at Big Bend National Park, leads protesters in chanting "No Big Bend Wall." Carlos Morales/for NPR hide caption

Defending Big Bend

At Santa Elena Canyon, local river guide Billy Miller speaks into a megaphone – his voice slightly bouncing off the canyon walls.

"The river's being threatened as we speak," Miller told a crowd of nearly 150 people on Wednesday, some standing in the river's waters, others on the banks holding signs that read 'don't bulldoze my church' and 'don't tread on Big Bend.'

"A lot of people might think, 'Well, we saved it from the 30-foot wall, we won the battle," Miller said. "The battle is just now beginning."

While the fight inside the national park is reaching a critical point, the federal government's border security efforts are also progressing outside the park.

Staging sites have been set up in rural West Texas, where the Trump administration is looking to secure private land in border counties to make way for up to 175 miles of steel fencing.

A quiet, two-lane highway – affectionately called 'river road' hugs the Texas-Mexico border – leads to the sprawling 800,000 acres of Big Bend National Park. Carlos Morales/for NPR. hide caption