Trump administration considers scaling back border project in Texas' Big Bend National Park

The Trump administration says it's considering reducing the scope of a border security project in Big Bend National Park in Texas WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration is considering reducing the scope of a planned border project through Big Bend National Park in Texas, a contentious undertaking that has drawn bipartisan opposition over concerns it will irrevocably mar the remote, majestic… In August, the Republican administration initiated a pause on construction-related activity in the park as it engaged in outreach efforts to opponents of the project.

The pause ends Wednesday.Customs and Border Protection is “actively considering adjustments" to the work "that would reduce its scope and avoid or minimize potential impacts, based on input received from the National Park Service and other stakeholders,” the government said in the court filing.The agency said it will make a final decision the first week in October and will take “several weeks” after that announcement before any “ground-disturbing work” starts.After intense opposition from environmentalists and local residents and business owners, CBP backed off plans this year to build a 30-foot-tall bollard wall through the park. But its intention to move forward with other measures such as a new road, lights, vehicle barriers and technology did not quell local resistance.After bulldozers were spotted in August clearing land in Big Bend, CBP Commissioner Rodney Scott announced a pause on all activity there and it was later expanded to the area upstream of the park. The agency has said it was only carrying out design and planning work, not full-scale construction activities.Opponents of the border project called on the administration Wednesday to continue the pause while coming up with a new plan.Bob Krumenaker, head of Keep Big Bend Wild and a former NPS superintendent at the park, said in a statement that the Border Patrol already works with the park service and local sheriffs to operate an “effective surveillance system” in Big Bend that includes ground sensors and patrols.

The Coalition to Protect America’s National Parks said building in the park would be “mutilating an extraordinary landscape.”The project is part of a $46 billion plan by the administration to line the U.S.-Mexico border with steel bollard walls, vehicle barriers and surveillance technology to deter migrants and smuggler…