Interior betrays public trust with land transfers for border wall

In response to the Department of the Interior’s announcement that 560 acres of federal public lands be transferred to the Department of Defense for construction of President Trump’s border wall, The Wilderness Society issued the following statement from its president, Jamie Williams:

“This transfer of public lands to expedite the construction of an unfunded border wall is an egregious betrayal of public trust by the Department of the Interior.

“There are severe environmental impacts of building a wall on these public lands that the Department of the Interior has ignored. We also stand in solidarity with our partners who work to address the terrible human impact" of the proposed wall - Jamie Williams, president of The Wilderness Society

“There are severe environmental impacts of building a wall on these public lands that the Department of the Interior has ignored. We also stand in solidarity with our partners who work to address the terrible human impact of Trump’s border policies, and with families and communities who are suffering because of those policies.

Continued below

“The Wilderness Society opposes the militarization of these public lands and opposes waivers of U.S. laws along our nation's borders for construction of a wall. We urge consideration of comprehensive solutions that will improve our immigration system, while maintaining the significant natural and cultural values of our public lands.”

Contact: Kate Mackay, Senior Director - Communications Strategy, 602-571-2603; kate_mackay@tws.org

The Wilderness Society, founded in 1935, is the leading conservation organization working to protect wilderness and inspire Americans to care for our wild places. With more than one million members and supporters, The Wilderness Society has led the effort to permanently protect 109 million acres of wilderness and to ensure sound management of our shared national lands. www.wilderness.org