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I recently traveled to Presidio and Terlingua, Texas to meet with the communities that will be directly impacted by the federal government’s plans to build a border wall in the Big Bend region. In case you missed it, the federal government awarded $1.7 billion in Department of Homeland Security contracts to build six-foot and thirty-foot steel bollard walls, vehicle barriers, and patrol roads around Big Bend National Park, Big Bend Ranch State Park, and its surrounding areas. This poses an environmental and economic threat not to just the national parks that we know and love but to the actual people who make a living and rely on cross-border relationships to thrive.
Big Bend holds enormous cultural, archaeological, and environmental significance for Texans. Border wall construction along the Rio Grande threatens more than the landscape — it could disrupt river tourism, ranching and agriculture, and the communities whose livelihoods depend on the land and water.
I am so proud that the people of the Big Bend region have been fighting to protect what is sacred land, and as governor, I will fight to protect our sovereignty and the inheritance of the Big Bend so that our children and grandchildren can experience what we have here.
The beauty of Big Bend is such a gift that we have in Texas, and we have to fight for it and preserve it. Big Bend’s remote, rugged landscape — marked by mountains, desert, steep canyons, and rough terrain — already creates significant natural barriers to movement across the region. Which begs the question: Why are there plans to carve out a physical barrier to this natural landscape in the first place?
There has been very little transparency about how the federal government decided on what it plans to build, how many people will be displaced by this project, and the environmental consequences of construction. In fact, the Department of Homeland Security waived numerous environmental laws — including the Endangered Species Act — to fast track this project.
Plans have shifted repeatedly, even as billions of dollars in contracts have already been awarded and construction activity has moved forward. Texans deserve clear answers about what is being built in our backyard and what we stand to lose. Anyone who has experienced the beauty of Big Bend, understands that what is happening now is just a travesty.
Instead of actually fighting to protect Texans and our land, Greg Abbott has taken credit for the months-long campaign led by local grassroots activists to pause construction within the area — a pause that came after land owners had to file a federal lawsuit. If we had a governor who cared to defend our sovereignty and our land, everyday Texans would not have to be carrying that burden. Abbot should have sued the federal government to stop what is happening in Big Bend. His lack of leadership on this issue is shameful. Texans should not have to wait until bulldozers arrive for their governor to defend our land.
A temporary pause won’t change what has already been bulldozed — this landscape has been permanently altered, we cannot simply put it back the way it was. And there’s no telling what will happen when the construction pause ends at the end of this month. That is why this fight is urgent and requires all of us to keep speaking out in defense of Big Bend.
As governor, I will fight to protect Big Bend and the Texans who call this region home. I will demand transparency from the federal government, stand with communities challenging destructive projects, and use every legal tool available to defend Texas land and our sovereignty.
Big Bend belongs to all of us — and we owe it to the generations that come after us to fight for it now.
I am so grateful to have met with the local business owners, preservationists, and community members within the region who help keep Big Bend the special place that it is. Please, take a look at the gallery below to see some of the people and places that made my visit so meaningful:
Thank you for fighting back,
Gina

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