New report gives more info on Valley's portion of border fence

BROWNSVILLE - The U.S. Department of Homeland Security has released a physical description of the border fence and its environmental impact on the Rio Grande Valley.

The information is included in DHS' recently issued Environmental Stewardship Plan.

Though the fence's trajectory has only slightly changed since DHS' previous environmental impact statement last fall, the new document includes several updates.

According to the plan, the fence will affect 21 wildlife management areas and refuges in the Rio Grande Valley. Short- and long-term negligible to moderate adverse impacts on wildlife and aquatic resources will be expected.

To minimize that impact, small openings will be integrated into the semi-transparent steel fence to let animals pass through. A biological monitor will be on site during construction to account for occurrences of special status species, including ocelots and jaguarundis.

Approximately 376 acres of vegetation will be cleared before the fence is erected.

The barrier, which will be built in segments ranging from one to 13 miles in length, will be able to withstand a 10,000-pound vehicle crashing into it at 40 miles an hour, the report states. And it will be "aesthetically pleasing to the extent possible."

Several doctored images also illustrate what the fence will look like in various areas: suburban property, rural land and refuges.

Roma, Rio Grande City and Los Ebanos will get a different type of fence: a movable barrier installed to mitigate impact to the floodplain.

"During a flood event," the report reads, "sections of the fence ... would be moved in order to allow easier passage of flood waters."

In Brownsville, new maps and analyses do little to alleviate concerns there over how the city's downtown will be affected.

"The ultimate effect of the fence on the future developmental potential of downtown Brownsville," the report states, "is somewhat uncertain."

An updated map of the border fence's path still shows the barrier bisecting Brownsville's Sabal Palm Audubon Center and Southmost Preserve.

Sabal Palm Audubon Center, which contains the largest tract of sabal palms left in the nation, will be closed if the fence is constructed along its proposed path, center managers have said.

After waiving more than 30 environmental laws in April, Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff was no longer obligated to issue another environmental report.

But Chertoff has "committed DHS to continue to protect valuable natural and cultural resources," the report states.