Bulldozers move into Big Bend National Park as US border project advances
New footage shows bulldozers working at the mouth of Santa Elena Canyon in Big Bend National Park, part of a multibillion-dollar US-Mexico border expansion. Officials say it is survey work, but activists and local critics warn of environmental damage.
Bulldozers have been seen clearing land at the entrance to Big Bend National Park’s famous Santa Elena Canyon, according to footage recorded by activists monitoring the area. The work is linked to the Trump administration’s multibillion-dollar “smart wall” program along the US-Mexico border.
Activists first posted videos last week showing heavy machinery at work. US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) initially denied any connection to border infrastructure. By Thursday, photographer Natalie Newman filmed bulldozers moving earth at the canyon mouth, a popular Rio Grande stretch flanked by cliffs nearly 1,500 feet high.
“It’s just devastating,” said Laiken Jordahl of the Center for Biological Diversity. “They’re bulldozing a brand new road through the most beloved stretch of the park.”
Big Bend is a roughly 800,000-acre area of Chihuahuan desert, home to the Chisos Mountains and bordered by the Rio Grande. Local businesses, river guides and politicians from both parties have criticized the project, noting that the region records few unauthorized crossings.
Bob Krumenaker, former park superintendent and head of Keep Big Bend Wild, said immigration authorities made between 100 and 125 arrests a year in the park in 2023 and 2024. The number almost certainly fell in 2025, he added, after President Trump returned to office and launched a broader immigration crackdown.
CBP turned its attention to the park after Congress approved $46.5 billion for border wall expansion in a spending bill signed into law last July. The agency first proposed a 30-foot steel bollard wall, but after a backlash scaled it back to about 200 miles of patrol roads and four non-contiguous vehicle barriers, roughly 6 feet tall and totalling 17 miles. The Department of Homeland Security waived dozens of environmental and cultural protection laws to speed construction.
CBP spokespeople initially said the bulldozers were regrading rain-damaged roads, then said crews were assessing soil. Commissioner Rodney Scott said the work is “survey and design work – NOT construction of a wall through the park.” Critics, including Krumenaker, say the agency is disguising the project’s scope.
Democratic lawmakers have condemned the project, while many Texas Republicans have stayed quiet. Outgoing Senator John Cornyn last week asked Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin to pause construction so locals can be heard. In May, Southwest Valley Contractors of New Mexico won a $1.7 billion contract for infrastructure in the area.
The Center for Biological Diversity, Friends of the Ruidosa Church and river guide Billy Miller filed suit against DHS, saying the waivers violated constitutional rights. DHS agreed in June to give 30 days’ notice before ground-disturbing work in Big Bend parks.
Activists worry the work could eventually lead to a full wall. “They issued this contract back when they were still planning to build a wall,” Jordahl said.
