Illegal mammals?

I was at a listening session with government officials last week in El Paso and I've been meaning to blog about it. It was about the state of human rights at the border and it had a panel on environmental protection. A lot of the talk centered on the environmental degradation caused by security activity and infrastructure (like the border fence/wall) on what had previously been untouched wilderness.

One of the problems is that the border wall that's designed to stop migrants from crossing is also stopping all sorts of critters from migrating, finding food, mates, etc...  And while migrants have ladders and wire cutters, and hopefully soon, a reform of the broken immigration system (but that's for another blog), animals are stuck. Just look at these sad pictures. (More photos and info are available at the Sierra Club, and Defenders of Wildlife.)

(Deer, Arizona. 2007. Anonymous.)

Even the smaller creatures can't pass:

(Toad, Arizona. 2006. Anonymous.)

(Roadrunner, Arizona. 2009. Dan Millis.)

(Javelinas, Arizona. 2008. Kris Schlyer.)

A cougar:

(Cougar, San Pedro. 2010. Anonymous.)