Walls And Wilderness: Analyzing The Impacts Of Border Barriers On U.S. Government Lands Of The United States - Mexico Border

This paper seeks to describe the impacts of physical structures (fences, walls, barricades, etc.) on five selected areas of federally-protected U.S. lands along the U.S.-Mexico border that fall under the jurisdiction of the U.S. Department of the Interior. The five selected areas are: Santa Ana National Wildlife Refuge, Big Bend National Park, Organ Mountains - Desert Peaks National Monument, the Tohono O\u27odham Nation Reservation, and Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument. The research looks into the historical development of structures put in place on the U.S. - Mexico border, how they have become ever more ubiquitous in the region, and what the implications are to federally-protected lands. The research will use the key concepts of conservation biology as biopolitics , the iatrogenesis effect of the border walls themselves, and also the biophilia hypoThesis to describe the impact border barricades have on the U.S.-Mexico border. Finally, this paper seeks to put forth policy recommendations to attempt to address the challenges associated with the regio