Hundreds of acres of federal lands are now under the control of the Department of the Army to help build the southern border wall. Secretary of the Interior David Bernhardt announced the transfer of about 560 acres so that roughly 70 miles of border barriers can be constructed.
This action comes in response to a series of applications for Emergency Withdrawal as submitted by the Army for construction or augmentation of barriers along the southern border. No national parks nor segments from Indian country are included in the land transfer.
A release states that no national parks or segments from Indian country are included in the transfer.Secretary Bernhardt said in a statement that without this action, "national security and natural resource values will be lost."
The Army submitted its requests after President Trump declared a national emergency regarding the border security and humanitarian crisis at our southern border in February of this year.The requests follow the Defense Department's announcement on September 4, 2019 to defer $3.6 billion to fund 11 barrier projects at our southern border.
Secretary of the Interior David Bernhardt said in a statement, “I’ve personally visited the sites that we are transferring to the Army, and there is no question that we have a crisis at our southern border. Absent this action, national security and natural resource values will be lost. The impacts of this crisis are vast and must be aggressively addressed with extraordinary measures.”
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