Bush on the border

George Bush will visit Yuma, Arizona on Monday for a photo opportunity and political theater, and, ostensibly, to promote the latest in "immigration reform." He'll talk about the need to fund the "Secure Fence" and be tough on preventing terrorists. Sounds a lot like last year's visit, when he hopped in a dune buggy and drove over fragile habitats.

More than 85 percent of the lands directly on the international border are federally owned, and 62 percent of all land within 100 miles of the border is as well. In other words, the border is not simply an immigration/racism/economic issue- it's a huge public lands issue in some of the most fragile environments we've got here in the U.S. Read the Defenders Of Wildlife's excellent report on the impacts.

Arizona State Rep. Doug Clark, who, being from "Anthem" and with a degree in "biblical literature," has some questionable perspective, said this about the migrants crossing Buenos Aires National Wildlife Refuge:

"Clark said he's surprised that environmental groups aren't more vocal about the kind of degradation he saw on the tour.

"If we were legal citizens doing what those illegals are doing, there'd be an outcry," Clark said."

Um, and there is. And every time the environmental groups try to stop real degradation (mining, grazing, off-road abuses, logging) conservatives like Clark accuse us of trying to ruin the economy. Look, you can't have it both ways: you either let the low-wage worker on whom your cheap berries depend come in legally or you get water jugs, gasp, on the public lands. Those water jugs are unsightly, bad for wildlife, and won't degrade for a good long time, but they are less offensive than Anthem, we assure you.

Some environmental groups have stopped turning a blind eye to the issue and we commend the Rincon Group of the Sierra Club for taking a much more radical stand than the national charter. From the Arizona Republic:

"I think National Guard and further militarizing of the border is not the answer," said Sean Sullivan, a member of the executive committee of the Sierra Club's Rincon Group in southern Arizona.

Sullivan recently took members of the Sierra Club's national board on a border tour. The Rincon Group is trying to get the national board more engaged in the immigration issue, citing the environmental dimensions of the problem.

To Sullivan, the answer lies in policy positions that aim to boost economic development in Mexico, so people are not tempted to cross into the U.S. in search of better-paying jobs.

Widespread trash is a byproduct of illegal immigration, Sullivan said, but not the core issue.

A solid wall, such as is being built along stretches of the border, is not so easily disposed of and has severe consequences for wildlife, he added.

Conservation groups across the country would be wise to add their voices to the chorus.


- Lozen