Federal contractors begin border barrier construction near Santa Elena Canyon, inside Big Bend National Park. August 6, 2026.
Natalie Newman
Bulldozers began clearing land in Texas’ Big Bend National Park this week after a series of last-minute pleas to halt the Trump administration’s plan to build barriers along the border failed.
Video of heavy construction equipment clearing vegetation near the Rio Grande circulated on social media, shocking and outraging park advocates and conservation groups. Plans call for a mixture of steel barriers and surveillance technology, including lights, cameras and sensors.
“This is the most heinous attack on an American national park in generations,” said Laiken Jordahl, national public lands advocate for the Center of Biological Diversity. “The administration is preparing to blast hundreds of miles of destructive roads through the wildest place left in Texas and cut off public access to the Rio Grande, all to enrich private contractors.”
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A spokesperson for the U.S. Customs and Border Protection told The Dallas Morning News that crews are re-grading roads to prepare for construction but have not begun construction.
Photographs and videos captured by park visitors, however, show crews clearing vegetation just east of Santa Elena Canyon, one of the park’s most iconic and visited sites. The spokesperson for Customs and Border Protection did not respond to follow-up questions asking for additional information.
Federal contractors begin border barrier construction near Santa Elena Canyon, inside Big Bend National Park. August 6, 2026.
Natalie Newman
Bob Krumenaker, who served as superintendent of the park from 2018 to 2023 who now works with the advocacy group Keep Big Bend Wild, confirmed that heavy equipment is clearing land near Santa Elena Canyon to build a road. He said park lovers are devastated.
“There’s anger, resignation and fear of what’s to come,” Krumenaker said. “Our government is betraying us and lying to us.”
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Related: Plans for steel barriers, roads in Texas’ Big Bend National Park draw fury
Plans call for the construction of vehicle barriers across 17 miles of the park, with steel posts spaced 4 feet apart and rising 4 to 6 feet tall. A continuous cross beam will support the posts. An additional 205 miles of the U.S. Southern border will be outfitted with surveillance technology.
The Trump administration appears for now to have scrapped a plan to build a 30-foot wall through the park following a bipartisan outcry.
Lawmakers from both parties, environmental advocates and many in West Texas have opposed what they call unnecessary construction in the national park. They say the work will irreparably damage native plants, wildlife and natural desert beauty.
A bipartisan group of border sheriffs and county judges has asked the administration for better communication and transparency. The nonprofit Center of Biological Diversity has sued the Department of Homeland Security to stop construction. That case is ongoing.
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Last week, Texas Land Commissioner Dawn Buckingham, a Republican, sent a cease-and-desist letter to Customs and Border Protection and federal contractors for illegally clearing state land for border wall construction.
More than 140 outfitters, local businesses and recreation groups this week urged Texas leaders to protect public access to the Rio Grande and stop the project. They warned building permanent barriers and roads would put river outfitters out of business and devastate the local economy.
“Big Bend National Park and the Rio Grande that flows through it are a source of Texan pride,” the letter said. “This wild country is fundamental to the identity of our state.”
Federal contractors begin border barrier construction near Santa Elena Canyon, inside Big Bend National Park. August 6, 2026.
Natalie Newman
In May, Homeland Security awarded a $1.7 billion contract to Southwest Valley Constructors for border work through the Big Bend region. The New Mexico-based company did not immediately respond to a message sent through their website.
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Big Bend sees fewer border crossings compared with other parts of Texas because of its harsh desert climate and rugged terrain. In fiscal year 2025, the 517-mile Big Bend sector recorded 3,096 apprehensions of migrants, accounting for 1.3% of the 237,538 apprehensions across the U.S.-Mexico border, according to Customs and Border Protection data.
One of the country’s largest and most remote national parks, Big Bend is home to the Chisos Mountains and Chihuahuan Desert and is considered to have some of the darkest skies in the continental U.S. About 568,000 people visited the park in 2025.
Related: Plans to build border wall in Texas’ Big Bend National Park sparks outrage