Big Bend National Park · August 2026
The Stewardship of Big Bend
Caring for Big Bend demands our judgement and the restraint to do what's needed and nothing more.
By Will Roman, Founder of Chisos Boot Company
Texans loved this bend of the river long before anyone in Washington could point to it on a map. And in 1942, that affection did something rare: the State of Texas bought it and gave it away to the federal government. Two years later, just days after D-Day, Franklin Roosevelt signed Big Bend National Park into existence. A people at war decided this land should be prepared for generations not yet born.
That is stewardship. It would require building, when and where appropriate. Because keeping Big Bend healthy never meant it would remain untouched. But we must manage our inheritance properly. We have to ask ourselves, how can we protect this place, without sacrificing any more than needed?
I'll speak plainly about where I stand. I support securing our national border. I am not neutral on illegal immigration.
I also think the administration was wrong to propose building a 30 foot wall through Big Bend. Through a desert buttressed by 1500 foot cliffs. That said, the people who think our national borders don't need securing are wrong, too.
The common sense approach is to use a bit of our very advanced American technology and let the desert do the heavy lifting.
Big Bend is personal to me. I've taken many friends to visit and made many new friends while out there. I got caught in a flash flood on the backside of the Chisos once. I've camped on those enchanting mountains. And it was there that I decided to marry my wife.
The Chisos team visits Big Bend often. We went again this week to assess the reality for ourselves. We have, of course, read the Customs and Border Patrol plans. And probably too much of the comments online. We've done our research. But we had to see it first-hand, so we went.
I do not claim to have figured it all out. But I do want to tell you why an intact Big Bend and a secure border are both part of the responsibility we carry.
We've put together the report below to share what we see. I hope it helps.
Because we don't get a do over.
Do Right, Love Texas.
Read the plan for yourself
A photo of a bulldozer in Big Bend is not by itself damning. The national park is enormous. There are hundreds of miles of roadway, paved and primitive. We already do upkeep.
Customs and Border Patrol says it is building one new access road, but did not specify length. CBP's materials describe approximately 200 miles of patrol road construction and improvements, so it's unclear.
The biggest funds are dedicated to installing detection technology and placing vehicle barriers in limited locations.
Inside Big Bend NP (BBT-4)
$1.72B task order to Southwest Valley Constructors (Kiewit), obligated May 2026
30-foot steel bollard wall
Barrier with lights, fiber, and cameras. Earlier plans put it inside the national park. 175 miles is under construction across Hudspeth, Jeff Davis, and Presidio counties, including about two miles inside Big Bend Ranch State Park. None inside the national park.
4–6 ft rail vehicle barrier
Low steel rail meant to stop vehicles but let animals pass. Paired with detection technology and patrol roads. Commissioner Scott, on the record: “We are NOT building a 30-foot wall or stadium lighting through Big Bend National Park.”
Utilize natural enforcement
In the Big Bend Sector, the 20-year median is about 6,000 apprehensions per year. That's a little over 1 percent of all southwest border apprehensions. The park itself averages between 100 and 200 apprehensions per year. That is not an argument for doing nothing. But it also shows that, out of the millions of crossings over the past two decades, this ain't where the problem lives.
It's hard enough to traverse this land on foot. Impossible in a vehicle. Terrell County Sheriff Thaddeus Cleveland spent 26 years in the Border Patrol. When asked about his use of barriers, he said, “We didn't have to worry about any type of barrier. We had a God-made barrier.”
The process matters
On June 8th, DHS waived a stack of federal laws as they apply to Big Bend: the National Park Service Organic Act, the Endangered Species Act, the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act. That is the first time it has been done for construction inside a national park.
Those processes exist because permanent decisions deserve a second look. Waiving them is legal. But setting aside the rules is a poor opening move if the goal is earning the trust of Texans.
And some of those Texans let their imaginations run away with them. Brush work became bulldozers “ripping apart” the entire park. One national group called it “the most heinous attack on an American national park in generations.” Then videos circulated claiming the government is tearing down a mountain.
Just communicate and follow the process and these wild stories evaporate.
The quiet work of influence
On August 16th, CBP Commissioner Rodney Scott visited West Texas, meeting with the sheriffs of the border counties. That outcome primarily came out of the unglamorous work behind the scenes by people who exercise restraint.
“I spoke with the Secretary of Homeland Security, and he committed to me that they will not be building a wall or a fence in Big Bend National Park... To be clear, the Secretary committed there would be no construction of any type of barrier in Big Bend National Park. There are technology tools that don't include barriers. Think of drones. Think of fiber optics.”
Gov. Greg Abbott, August 17, 2026No wall. No stadium lighting. Maybe no barrier at all. The use of technology instead. Delivered by letters from sheriffs, county judges, business owners, and a senator. Respectful dialogue got it done.
This year, our creative director, Dimitri, watched the advocacy effort firsthand in Austin. We spoke with elected officials in both parties. After all, people wear our boots on both sides of the aisle. And we supported Big Bend and Texas conservation financially as we have since our first year in business.
Our efforts probably didn't move the needle. That credit belongs to the dozens of people working quietly for months with higher-powered friends. But if you have worried that nobody is fighting for Big Bend because you couldn't see it happening, well, plenty are.
Don't let a few activists turn Big Bend into ideological theater. Progress happened because this stayed bipartisan.
The standard we're all held to
Stewardship is a shared duty. Franklin was carrying on his cousin Theodore's conservation legacy. That Roosevelt put more than 200 million acres under protection. Teddy was a Republican who understood conservation as a duty. John Muir walked through Yosemite with him, yet the two agreed on little else. We must continue that tradition of working together.
To our elected officials: you've been entrusted to caring for a part of the Texas identity in Big Bend and a beautiful piece of American inheritance. Do not mess this up. Look at the statistics and walk the terrain and build the lightest footprint that gets the job done.
That is what stewardship looks like.
The record is still open until August 31
CBP's draft environmental assessment for the Big Bend Vehicle Border Barrier System (BBT-5) — a separate proposal from the BBT-4 contract inside the park, covering roughly 157 non-contiguous miles across Brewster, Terrell, and Val Verde counties — is open for public comment through August 31, 2026. Comments become part of the permanent public record. A specific, first-hand comment carries more weight than a form letter.
- Read it
- CBP draft environmental assessment, July 2026
-
BigBendComments@cbp.dhs.gov
Subject line: Big Bend Vehicle Border Barrier System Construction - Phone
- (833) 412-2056
- U.S. Customs and Border Protection, U.S. Border Patrol HQ, Program Management Office Directorate, 1300 Pennsylvania Ave. 6.5E, Mail Stop 1039, Washington, DC 20229-1100 — ATTN: Michelle Barnes
Sources. Every figure above comes from a primary document or from reporting that names its source.
- Park statistics — National Park Service, Big Bend park statistics
- Park founding, 1942–44 — Texas Highways; Handbook of Texas
- Roosevelt conservation figures — U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
- Contract, mileage, and barrier design — Engineering News-Record; The Big Bend Sentinel
- “Not building a 30-foot wall” and project boundaries — Texas Observer; Marfa Public Radio
- Environmental law waivers — Marfa Public Radio; Center for Biological Diversity
- Sheriff Cleveland — CNN via KVIA
- Encounter share and cost comparison — The Big Bend Sentinel; Keep Big Bend Wild (CBP encounter data)
- CBP statements and bipartisan response — KUT; NPR
- August 17 construction pause — Marfa Public Radio; The Texas Tribune; NOTUS
- County judges, sheriffs, business and congressional letters — National Parks Traveler; San Antonio Current; Sen. Cornyn's office
- Mariscal Mountain road, the congressional blasting inquiry, and CBP's denial — TheTravel; The Big Bend Sentinel; Rep. Doggett's office
- Gov. Abbott's August 17 remarks — KWTX; FOX 44
- Big Bend Sector apprehension figures — Keep Big Bend Wild, compiling CBP data