A call to arms

"This [border] wall is so asinine, and so wrong, I am one of a dozen scientists ready to lay our bodies down in front of tractors," Healy Hamilton, who directs the Center for Biodiversity Research and Information at the California Academy of Sciences, told colleagues at a recent scientific retreat [in Tucson]. "This is one thing we might be able to stop."

"Make it 13!" said Allison Jones, a conservation biologist at the Wild Utah Project, an advocacy group.

It shouldn't be too hard to boost these numbers, given that anyone with a brain in their head and a heart in their chest knows the border wall will totally screw wildlife, and that this is fundamentally wrong. But thanks, Washington Post, for this great article on the border wall debacle. And thanks, Healy Hamilton, for your boost of optimism and enthusiasm.

What is really amazing is the DHS spokesperson.

"Just because we're using this waiver authority doesn't mean we've not been mindful of our obligation to be stewards of the environment," she said in an interview. "For a number of miles, we've determined that it would have only insignificant impact."

No, in fact, DHS's "stewardship" will have a terribly significant impact on many, many miles.

But, Gee whiz! Lookee here: The DHS is going to mitigate.

Kudwa could not specify which areas would feel the greatest effects from the barrier, but she said Homeland Security is negotiating to give the Fish and Wildlife Service $800,000 to mitigate the wall's impact on the Sonoran pronghorn and the long-nose bat in the Cabeza Prieta refuge, even though DHS has waived its obligation to comply with Endangered Species Act requirements there.

$800,000! WOW! That's like, less money than it costs to build a mile of wall! Such a deal! Thanks, DHS!

Here's a better plan: Keep your stinkin' wall. And your bloodmoney.