SAN DIEGO (Border Report) — Researchers Christina Aiello and Myles Traphagen have spent the last two days mapping the border between San Diego and Baja California trying to figure out where new portions of the border barrier will be built and how the structures will impact wildlife and biodiversity in the area.

Both Aiello and Traphagen work for Wildlands Network, which is based in Salt Lake City.

“We came out here to look at the condition of the border and where they plan on building the border wall,” Traphagen said.

The Department of Homeland Security recently announced plans to resume border wall construction in Texas, Arizona and California including three main spots between San Diego County and Baja.

To do this, DHS is waiving several environmental laws to expedite the work.

“This is necessary to ensure the expeditious construction of physical barriers and roads. Projects executed under a waiver are critical steps to secure the southern border and reinforce our commitment to border security,” the agency said in a statement.

In Texas, the waivers will allow border wall to be built through 13 refuge tracts of the Lower Rio Grande Valley National Wildlife Refuge where endangered plants and animals live, according to the Center for Biological Diversity.

“We can’t be simply be throwing away all of our biodiversity, natural and cultural history, and heritage to solve a problem we can do more constructively by overhauling our immigration programs, so what we’re examining are places where we can suggest mitigation measures like small wildlife openings,” said Traphagen.

Traphagen described 8-by-11-inch openings at the base of the wall that allow small animals to crawl through in both Arizona and California.

“These are the size of your doggy door you can buy at the pet store, but what we found out with our research in Arizona is that a lot more animals can use these small openings: mountain lions, javelinas, the wild pigs you find in Arizona, skunks, badgers, coyotes and a lot of other small mammals. So, this is a proactive mitigation measure for allowing wildlife movements in places.”

Traphagen shared a video recorded by one of Wildlands Network’s censor-operated cameras showing a mountain lion and her cubs using one of these small apertures to get to the other side of the barrier.

“We’ve documented no humans ever using them,” he said. “Sometimes you see people looking at them curious about it, but it’s obvious you’re not going to be able to get through this.”

He wishes there was a way for the federal government to consider bigger gaps to help the migration of jaguars and big horn sheep.

“If we extend the border wall completely, those sheep are not going to have an opportunity to go back and forth.” 

Traphagen says there’s a lot at stake if DHS does complete every proposed wall project.

“If they do complete that, that means that 95 percent of California and Mexico will be walled off and divided and that affects the whole evolutionary history of the whole continent,” he said.