Surveyors assess property in advance of fence construction

BROWNSVILLE - Federal surveyors conducted one of their final environmental assessments along the proposed path of the border fence on Tuesday afternoon.

This time, they assessed the property of one of the fence's most vocal opponents - Eloisa Tamez, a professor at the University of Texas at Brownsville and Texas Southmost College, stuck in a courtroom battle with the federal government.

Federal attorneys sued Tamez in January over access to her land in El Calaboz, about 12 miles west of Brownsville. She responded by filing a countersuit, alleging the federal government failed to follow relevant laws in condemning her land.

The subsequent legal tug-of-war lasted more than two months, until U.S. District Judge Andrew Hanen ordered Tamez earlier this month to allow surveyors onto her land - an action to which she begrudgingly complied Tuesday.

"I asked what their objective was, what they were planning to do...and what the next step will be," Tamez said.

Missy Young, a surveyor from e²M, an environmental and engineering company based in Englewood, Colo., took photos of plants and structures that lie close to the levee.

"If there are any endangered species here, (the U.S. Department of Fish and Wildlife) needs to be aware," said Young, who was accompanied by two real estate specialists from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

In the coming weeks an additional land survey is planned for Tamez's land, to help determine the fence's trajectory and the price the government will pay for her swath of land.

The surveyors began assessing land along the border in February, but they were delayed by more than 50 lawsuits against property owners who didn't immediately grant access to federal officials.

During the course of her lawsuit, Tamez's case became a rallying point for anti-fence activists, several of whom were present during Tuesday's environmental assessment.

"I'm here to show my solidarity," said Kamala Platt, a professor at the University of Texas Pan American, who expressed her concerns about the fence's environmental impact.

"In this particular area, animals migrate from hemisphere to hemisphere...this is a big step into a crevice."