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By Dan Gooding
Associate News Editor
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More than 140 Texas outfitters, recreation groups and local businesses are warning that the Trump administration's plans to build vehicle barriers and roads through Big Bend National Park could cripple the region's tourism economy, as a growing coalition of local officials, law enforcement leaders and outdoor businesses pushes back against the project.
In a letter sent Tuesday to the state's Republican Senators John Cornyn and Ted Cruz and Governor Greg Abbott, the groups urged Texas leaders to stop what they described as the "needless construction" of border barriers along the Rio Grande, arguing the plans would permanently damage one of the state's most important recreation destinations while providing little additional security benefit.
"My major concern with the project is the potential for extreme lighting. Presently, we are in the middle of the world's largest dark sky reserve. If we lose our dark sky status, then my business is effectively ruined," Bryan Devonshire, the owner and founder of Astro Mucho, a stargazing business in Terlingua, told Newsweek.
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"Beyond lighting, this project can only be a deterrent to visitation. People come for the river and tranquility. Turning the parks into construction zones and leaving behind scars can only reduce tourism, which my business is dependent on."
The appeal comes as Customs and Border Protection advances plans to install vehicle barriers at river access points throughout the Big Bend region following a Department of Homeland Security (DHS) decision in June to waive numerous environmental, cultural and other protections to speed construction.
"To Washington D.C., this is just another construction project. But to all of us in West Texas, it's a matter of our survival," Billy Bartko, owner of Far Flung Outdoor Center, said in a statement released alongside the letter. "Our economy depends on access to the Rio Grande."
Newsweek reached out to the two Republican senators for comment via email Tuesday afternoon.
Abbott’s press secretary, Andrew Mahaleris, told Newsweek in a statement that the governor supported using "every necessary tool and strategy" to help the White House with its border security goals.
"Rugged, isolated areas like Big Bend are great opportunities to deploy technology to aid in securing the border," Mahaleris said. "Texas is a law-and-order state, and it works hand in glove with the Trump Administration every single day to uphold the laws of this country."
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Businesses Fear Major Impact on Tourism
The letter argues that access to the Rio Grande is the foundation of a regional outdoor recreation economy that supports outfitters, guides, lodging providers, restaurants and retailers across rural West Texas.
Signatories warned that CBP's plans would place barriers near major launch and take-out points used by commercial outfitters and recreational visitors, including locations at Lajitas, Talley, Solis, La Linda, and Dryden Crossing.
According to the coalition, the project could effectively end much of the commercial and recreational river-running activity that drives tourism in Big Bend National Park and the Rio Grande Wild and Scenic River corridor.
"There is nothing good or necessary about this project," Devonshire said. "Vehicle barriers where it is impossible to drive a vehicle across? Patrol roads next to cliffs that humans cannot traverse? It makes no sense. If the funding were directed toward technology, surveillance, and staffing, then I would have no problem.
"They have conjured an emergency that does not exist to waive 30 protective laws in an effort to push a multibillion-dollar no-bid contract, implementing questionable strategy and tactics, through public lands."
The economic stakes are potentially substantial. Big Bend National Park welcomed 561,459 visitors in 2024, according to National Park Service data. Those visitors spent an estimated $56.8 million in surrounding communities and generated roughly $63.7 million in economic output for the region.
In the letter, businesses argue that generations of Texans have built recreation companies around the river and that visitors travel from across the United States to experience the area's canyons, wilderness boating, hiking and wildlife viewing opportunities.
"Our local businesses depend heavily on tourism from the outdoor recreation economy," Sara Ryza of the Big Bend Tourism Alliance said in a press release. "Every room booked, meal ordered and gas tank filled keeps our regional economy going."
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Opposition Extends Beyond Environmental Groups
While border wall projects have often produced partisan clashes, opposition in Big Bend has united an unusually broad range of local stakeholders.
The letter notes that all five sheriffs in the Big Bend border region issued a joint statement opposing barrier construction earlier this year, arguing that the area's mountains, canyons, desert terrain and the Rio Grande already provide substantial natural obstacles to illegal crossings.
It also points to a request from all 14 Texas border county judges for greater transparency and security measures tailored to the region's unique geography. Seven former Big Bend National Park superintendents have separately urged Homeland Security officials to reject the legal waivers authorizing construction.
A petition opposing construction has attracted more than 150,000 signatures, according to the letter.
The latest business-led effort follows months of criticism from local officials who contend that federal planners are pursuing a one-size-fits-all border strategy in an area where natural barriers and existing surveillance infrastructure already play a major role in enforcement.
"There has been zero communication from CBP to the public," Devonshire said. "Instead, they are constantly moving the goalposts with total disregard for local opinion. Every local sheriff and judge from both sides of the aisle is opposed to this project, yet they press on without communication."
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Border Crossings Remain Low in Big Bend
Central to opponents' argument is the relatively small number of migrant encounters recorded in the sector compared with other portions of the southern border.
The Big Bend Sector encompasses roughly 517 miles of the U.S.-Mexico border, more than a quarter of the entire Southwest border. Yet it accounted for just 3,096 apprehensions in fiscal year 2025, representing about 1.3 percent of all apprehensions recorded along the southern border that year.
The figures have become a frequent talking point for critics who argue the administration has not demonstrated a need for extensive new barriers inside the park.
The business coalition goes even further, arguing that activity inside Big Bend National Park itself represents only a tiny fraction of overall border crossings. The letter states that apprehensions inside the park amounted to just 0.045 percent of total southwest border apprehensions in 2025.
Supporters of the project dispute claims that the area lacks security concerns. In a June construction waiver, DHS said Border Patrol agents encountered more than 89,000 migrants in the Big Bend Sector between fiscal years 2021 and 2025 and cited seizures of marijuana, cocaine, methamphetamine, heroin and fentanyl as justification for additional infrastructure.
A CBP spokesperson told Newsweek that early construction work was underway in Big Bend in Hudspeth, Jeff-Davis and Presidio Counties.
"CBP is actively coordinating with park officials to ensure the alignment does not impede recreational access or activities in locations where the barrier is currently planned close to the Big Bend Ranch State Park. Additionally, CBP will use and improve existing public and park roads where possible to provide agents continued access along the border," the spokesperson said.
Other work in the fourth section of the project, including within the National park, have not yet started, CBP said. That phase will include around 200 miles of patrol roads and detection technology.
"CBP is not planning to construct 30-foot-high barrier in Big Bend National Park, Big Bend Ranch State Park, or the Black Gap Wildlife Management Area," the spokesperson added.
What the Businesses Are Asking For
The letter asks Cornyn, Cruz, and Abbott to pursue three specific actions: prevent vehicle barriers from blocking public access to the Rio Grande, amend existing border construction contracts so they rely on technology rather than roads and physical barriers, and push DHS to rescind waivers of federal, state and local laws issued for the project.
The groups argue that Big Bend already contains an extensive border-security network, including surveillance technology operated by CBP, the National Park Service and local law enforcement agencies. They contend that expanding technologies such as remote monitoring systems and aerial surveillance would strengthen security without restricting access to the river.
"Big Bend National Park and the Rio Grande Wild and Scenic River are our shared natural heritage," the letter concludes. "We are asking you, our elected representatives, to protect our livelihoods, our river, and one of our state's most treasured landscapes from needless and permanent destruction."
Contact Newsweek editors on this story: Jason Lemon and Gray R. Thomas
Update 8/5/26, 11:34 a.m. ET: This article was updated with comment from Bryan Devonshire.
Update 8/5/26, 3:14 p.m. ET: This article was updated with comment from CBP.
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