With over a billion dollars in "border security funds" allocated by Congress, private companies are carrying out the biggest hoax of all—a $31.5 million dollar, seven-mile border fence at Sasabe, Arizona. The project has been whitewashed by a slim environmental assessment that obligingly finds "No Significant Impact."

Of all the self-serving U.S.-produced environmental assessments published in recent years, the slender pile of papers recently deposited in the Caviglia-Arivaca Library on the Arizona border has to be among the worst.

Prepared by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in Fort Worth and the Gulf South Research Corporation, in a scant document, the environmental assessment lists threatened and endangered species of flora and fauna in the area potentially affected by the construction and comes up with a "Finding of No Significant Impact."

The environmental assessment for the "Pedestrian Fence near Sasabe, Arizona" is one more installment in what could well become a multi-billion-dollar disaster—the proposed U.S.-Mexico border fence. As stated in the document, the Sasabe fence is being built "to comply with the Congressional Secure Fence Act of 2006," which requires that 700 miles of fence be built.

The Sasabe border fence is being built by Sundt Construction, Inc., from Phoenix, who won the $31.5 million contract from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, to build the series of 12-foot-high steel posts set four inches apart.

It only takes one look at the rugged mountains to the West of Sasabe to see that building an effective major wall across those mountains is hardly feasible. Migrants and jaguars can traverse the mountain paths, but wall construction appears physically impossible.

Even fence-planners have recognized the difficulty of construction in the area and proposed a "virtual fence" rather than a physical fence for the zones on both ends of the Sasabe fence. The Sasabe border fence would only extend 4.5 miles to the East and 2.5 miles to the West of the Sasabe border crossing. It totals seven miles of border wall segment that can be easily circumvented by migrants.

"No Significant Impact"

The reality of the area of the region contrasts sharply with the national security rhetoric that led to the Fence Act. On the daylong drive from Tucson to Arivaca, Sasabe, and Three Points, Arizona, on Aug. 23, there were about 30 Border Patrol units wandering around. The Border Patrol agents were watching the rain clouds form, talking on their cell phones and munching snacks at convenience stores.

A couple of Wackenhut buses, waiting to be loaded with migrants, sat empty along the highway. The Wackenhut drivers, whose company is owned by the global security corporation G4S, with offices in England and Denmark, were slouched over the steering wheels, no doubt experiencing one of the most boring days of their lives.

There wasn't a migrant in sight.

Things picked up a little over at the Buenos Aires National Wildlife Refuge. No migrants, just more Border Patrol agents talking on their cell phones and wandering around.

There were, however, a flock of hummingbirds at the feeders, and lots of information on the Pronghorns along the border. It turns out that the Sonoran Pronghorn migrate between Mexico and the United States, crossing the border in the desert between Ajo and Yuma. Pronghorns, the fastest mammal in North America, do not jump over fences like deer, they try to go through or under fences, which can be devastating to their survival. Jaguar, too, at times migrate from Mexico to the United States through these mountains.

Environmentalists, Tribal Leaders Call for Public Scrutiny

The Sasabe border fence environmental assessment does list endangered and threatened species, but according to experts, neglects a full investigation of impact.

The Bald Eagle and Chiricahua Leopard Frog are on the list of threatened species. On the endangered list are the California Brown Pelican, Desert Pupfish, Gila Chub, Gila Topminnow, Huachuca Water Umbel, Kearney Blue Star, Lesser Long-nosed Bat, Masked Bobwhite, Mexican Spotted Owl, Nichol Turk's Head Cactus, Ocelot, Pima Pineapple Cactus, Sonoran Pronghorn, and Southwestern Willow Flycatcher. The jaguar, a magnificent cinnamon-colored variety with black spots—the largest cat native in the Southwest—is also on the list.

Listed as "candidate species"1 are the Acuna Cactus, Sonoyta Mud Turtle, Yellow-billed Cuckoo, Gooddings Onion, and San Xavier Talussnail. The fence assessment states there is critical habitat here for the Desert Pupfish, Gila Chub, Huachuca Water Umbel, Mexican Spotted Owl, and Southwestern Willow Flycatcher.

One particularly controversial issue is the fate of the endangered Lesser Long-nosed Bat. The border fence assessment describes them as "easily disturbed." The bats pollinate the desert plants, including agave and cacti. They day-roost in caves and abandoned tunnels, making their homes in Arizona between April and September, then they fly south of the border for the rest of the year. The question remains whether the bats' hunting ability will be affected by the spy towers' high-tech equipment.

Environmentalists like Matt Clark, Southwest representative for Defenders of Wildlife, disagree with reports that the fence will not affect the environment. Clark told the Arizona Daily Star that the barrier would cut off access for jaguars, potentially closing the door on the animals' recovery in the United States. It would also be harmful for pygmy owls and could damage other nearby wildlife habitats if it forces border-crossers and law enforcement into new areas.

The proposed fence will be built along the Mexican border adjoining the Buenos Aires National Wildlife Refuge at State Route 286. Mitch Ellis, the refuge manager, said the fence construction would result in 3,500 acres being closed. Currently, it is unclear when it will reopen, as the fence conflict continues. It was closed for safety reasons since both hunters and National Guardsmen were in the area.

Ellis said he will not give permission for the fence to be built on federal land until the requirements are met for public comment and a completed environmental assessment.

"I'm not going to give them the permit until they go through the process and do it right," Ellis told the Arizona Daily Star. He noted that an expert opinion on the affect on jaguars in the region is still pending, as well as a complete cultural resource review about Tohono O'odham Indian sites in the area. Neither of these were included in the current environmental impact assessment.

Although the fence is not on the Tohono O'odham Nation, tribal Chairman Ned Norris Jr. said the project will adversely affect five of the tribe's cultural sites and that the tribe was not properly consulted.

He claims the Sasabe border fence assessment gives short shrift by merely stating: "In addition, if any cultural material is discovered during the construction efforts, then all activities in that area will halt until a qualified archeologist can be brought in to assess the cultural remains."

The environmental impact assessment "Finding of No Significant Impact" was signed on July 24 by Eugene Schied, assistant commissioner of the Office of Finance, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, and the Project Proponent, Office of Border Patrol, Tucson Sector (the signature on the latter is illegible).

No Public Comment

In Sasabe, where a construction crew began work Aug. 27, residents did not even know the environmental impact statement existed. The document was quietly sent by FedEx to the Caviglia-Arivaca Library after its release on July 27. Public access to the document has been nearly non-existent. Although the document itself states that the final environmental assessment and its "Finding of No Significant Impact" will be available at the Pima County Library in Tucson, research librarians there said there was no copy in the library.

The bundle of papers assessing the impact of the Sasabe fence was simply placed in the local library. Contrary to requirements, there was no call for public comment, and no period defined for input. At the end of the document, where public comments usually appear, there are three letters from the U.S. Army praising the project.

This failure to request public comments has not gone unnoticed. Arizona residents living along the border had one common sentiment about federal government's plans to build the border fence. As one local resident put it: "They could care less what we think about it."

Local residents and environmental experts and officials have questioned both the report's validity and the way it has been handled. Ellis, the Buenos Aires National Wildlife (BANW) manager, said the lack of public notice and comment period does not satisfy the requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act. Tohono O'odham Chairman Ned Norris, Jr., said the Tohono O'odham Nation was not allowed to comment on the impact to cultural sites. Already this summer, the United States' construction of the border vehicle barrier has resulted in Hohokam, O'odham ancestors, being dug up on tribal land and removed from their burial sites.

Border Boondoggle

Since it is not possible to build a border wall over parts of the mountain ranges throughout southern Arizona, Boeing, the lead contractor, has placed nine spy towers along the border. Currently they aren't working because of software problems.

In August the top camera was orbiting, and the red lights were flashing on the spy tower at the junction of Arivaca Road North of Sasabe, but overall the towers are experiencing technical failure. In all of these towers, throughout the rugged mountains, run of the mill Wi-Fi technology is being used.

Even more disturbing, the spy tower located in Arivaca is pointed at the homes of Arivaca community members. With its spy range of nine miles, there is no view of the border from that spy tower because of the mountains. Another spy tower is perched northwest of Sasabe, on the road to the Osa Guest Ranch. Arivaca residents oppose the spy tower based on the invasion of privacy and are planning a lawsuit.

End Notes

1. Candidate species are plants and animals that have been studied and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has concluded that they should be proposed for addition to the Federal endangered and threatened species list.

Brenda Norrell is a freelance writer based in Tucson, Arizona, focusing on indigenous rights in the Americas. She has covered Indian country news for 25 years, serving as a staff reporter for the Navajo Times and Indian Country Today and a stringer for the Associated Press. She is a contributor to the Americas Policy Program at www.americaspolicy.org.

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