Walls and Wilderness: Analyzing the Impacts of Border Barriers on U.S. Government Lands of the United States – Mexico Border
Abstract
This paper seeks to describe the impacts of physical structures (fences, walls, barricades, etc.) on five selected areas of federally-protected U.S. lands along the U.S.-Mexico border that fall under the jurisdiction of the U.S. Department of the Interior. The five selected areas are: Santa Ana National Wildlife Refuge, Big Bend National Park, Organ Mountains – Desert Peaks National Monument, the Tohono O'odham Nation Reservation, and Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument. The research looks into the historical development of structures put in place on the U.S.–Mexico border, how they have become ever more ubiquitous in the region, and what the implications are to federally-protected lands. The research will use the key concepts of conservation biology as biopolitics, the iatrogenesis effect of the border walls themselves, and also the biophilia hypothesis to describe the impact border barricades have on the U.S.–Mexico border. Finally, this paper seeks to put forth policy recommendations to attempt to address the challenges associated with the region.
Subject Area
Latin American Studies|Environmental management|Land Use Planning
Recommended Citation
Fugate, Bryce Garrett, "Walls and Wilderness: Analyzing the Impacts of Border Barriers on U.S. Government Lands of the United States – Mexico Border" (2018). ETD Collection for University of Texas, El Paso. AAI13424339.
https://scholarworks.utep.edu/dissertations/AAI13424339