National emergency dashes hopes for 5 ecologically sensitive sites spared by the spending bill
"The exemption in the spending bill will not likely save us in a state of emergency situation."
E.A. CRUNDEN
FEB 15, 2019, 11:51 AM
A spending bill allotting money to President Donald Trump’s border wall efforts shields five major ecologically or economically sensitive landmarks along the Rio Grande in Texas from any construction, including the National Butterfly Center and a beloved state park. But residents worry that a national emergency would make no such accommodations, once more imperiling vulnerable ecosystems on the border.
“We are very concerned about the state of emergency declaration,” said Marianna Treviño-Wright, the executive director of the National Butterfly Center. The center, located near the border city of Mission, Texas, has emerged as a major opponent of the wall, which would put the vulnerable animals and wildlife it protects in danger.
Thursday night momentarily brought the center some relief, when Congress moved to avert a second partial government shutdown. Lawmakers passed a 1,159-page spending bill containing more than $1.3 billion for the president’s wall, albeit not the $5.7 billion initially requested. The amount contained in the spending bill allows for 55 barriers based in the Rio Grande Valley — directly threatening state landmarks.
But Rep. Henry Cuellar (D-TX) said last-minute language added to the bill shielded five Texas landmarks. Along with the National Butterfly Center, exemptions are included for Bentsen-Rio Grande Valley State Park, home of the World Birding Center, and the historic Catholic chapel La Lomita.
https://thinkprogress.org/spending-bill-texas-trump-national-emergency-butterfly-center-wall-661f918aab3a/