--- title: Donald Trump Border Wall Proposal Would Harm the Environment description: Conservationists and other scientists say that a wall on the Mexican border would pose a threat to the local environment and ecosystems canonical: https://time.com/4650178/donald-trump-border-wall-environment/ author: Justin Worland article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2017-01-26T16:44:03.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-10-07T07:14:50.641Z article:section: Science og:title: The Problem With President Trump’s Wall That No One Is Talking About og:description: Conservationists and other scientists say that a wall on the Mexican border would pose a threat to the local environment and ecosystems og:url: https://time.com/4650178/donald-trump-border-wall-environment/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt154ab4f7694d3877/6988b766ab6d7707656aca11/donald-trump-border-wall-environment.jpeg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 5472 og:image:height: 3078 og:image:alt: donald trump border wall environment og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: The Problem With President Trump’s Wall That No One Is Talking About twitter:description: Conservationists and other scientists say that a wall on the Mexican border would pose a threat to the local environment and ecosystems twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt154ab4f7694d3877/6988b766ab6d7707656aca11/donald-trump-border-wall-environment.jpeg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # The Problem With President Trump’s Wall That No One Is Talking About > Sponsored content. 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Future Proof is TIME's weekly climate and energy newsletter, written by senior correspondent Justin Worland. It connects the energy transition to the decisions reshaping business, technology, policy and markets. #### Where can I follow the energy transition as a business story? Future Proof covers climate and energy as an economic and business story rather than only an environmental one. It publishes every Friday and is free at time.com/newsletters. #### Who writes Future Proof? Justin Worland, a senior correspondent at TIME and an award-winning climate journalist, writes Future Proof. #### Is Future Proof free? Yes. Future Proof is free at time.com/newsletters. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-futureproof-2026q3/newsletters?i=14614c60-4ad4-4ffb-9c0b-0aed4172b8d1&cr=time-nl-futureproof-2026q3-v1) ## Video: How Would a Border Wall Affect the Environment? [Watch (HLS stream): How Would a Border Wall Affect the Environment?](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/8QwmIoEW.m3u8) (1:33)  _Published 2017-02-27. President Donald Trump's plan to build a wall along the U.S. border with Mexico has been greeted with cheers from his supporters but conservationists say it poses a threat to the local environment and ecosystems._  by [Justin Worland](https://time.com/author/justin-worland/)  ## Justin Worland Senior Correspondent Jan 26, 2017 4:44 PM UTC  by [Justin Worland](https://time.com/author/justin-worland/)  ## Justin Worland Senior Correspondent Jan 26, 2017 4:44 PM UTC [President Donald Trump](http://time.com/4649649/natural-gas-renewable-energy-donald-trump/)‘s plan to[ build a wall along the U.S. border](http://time.com/4650229/donald-trump-border-wall-cost-paul-ryan/) with Mexico has been greeted with cheers from his supporters but skepticism and outright resistance from those who fear it will do little to ensure national security. Many worry that the wall will harm relations with Mexico while costing taxpayers billions of dollars. But conservationists and other scientists are raising a separate issue with the wall: It poses a threat to the local environment and ecosystems, they say. A wall would inhibit movement for animals that need to travel for food and water. It would also divide the mating pool of several animals, potentially leading to a decline in genetic diversity. “The wall is a disruptive, artificial boundary in the natural world,” says Jamie Rappaport Clark, CEO of the [Defenders of Wildlife](http://www.defenders.org/) conservation group. “Wildlife must be able to move freely across connected landscapes to survive.” Much of the border is already fenced, which inhibits animal movement to a degree, but Trump’s promise of a concrete wall [as high as 55 feet](https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2016/02/26/so-how-high-will-donald-trumps-wall-be-an-investigation/?utm%5Fterm=.b441afa56cc3) would essentially stop movement for every local species expect birds. The wall would affect a wide range of animals, but a few vulnerable species including jaguars, Mexican gray wolves and ocelots would be particularly hard hit, according to a Defenders of Wildlife [report](http://www.defenders.org/press-release/trumps-planned-permanent-border-wall-threatens-wildlife). Black bears, spotted owls and deer are also common in the region. Trump’s [executive order](https://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2017/01/25/executive-order-border-security-and-immigration-enforcement-improvements) does not mention an environmental review process for the wall, so it’s unclear whether the administration would weigh these concerns, but Trump said this week that he [wanted to begin construction within “months.”](http://time.com/4648921/president-trump-hopes-construction-on-border-wall-can-start-in-months/) In other contexts, Trump has denounced many environmental reviews as unnecessary bureaucratic requirements. A 2006 federal law also gives the Secretary of Homeland Security the authority to waive environmental reviews for such border projects when there is a national security interest. ## Transcript [ MUSIC ] My name is Sergio Avila I am a conservation research scientist at the Arizona- Sonora Desert Museum. There are different types of impacts to the environment if we think about barriers. If we block the movement, the natural movements of wildlife populations in any direction, we might be blocking those populations from moving to places where they can withstand the changing of the climate. There is also the longer term effect of blocking populations of plants and animals that eventually become separated genetically and, though this is very long term, creating a separation there is like a barrier to their reproduction. The infrastructure that is proposed along the border, is not only a while, we're talking about roads, patrols along those roads and helicopters and high- powered lights. And all of these different cases, destroy the habitat Other long term effects could be the destruction of so much habitat that then we lose complete populations of wildlife. This is a unique place for diversity of life in the world. If you don't see political lines Nature has no borders. Ultimately, the impacts to the environment are the most serious consequence of this infrastructure. 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