Continental Divide: Wildlife, People, and the Border Wall

Foreword

foreword There is an old saying that a picture is worth a thousand words. In Continental Divide: Wildlife, People, and the Border Wall, Krista Schlyer goes far beyond the power of pictures to share an eye-opening exposé of the unfortunate and unacceptable treatment of the southern border region of our country. Through her eloquent words and spectacular photographs, Krista shares a compelling story that few have heard: a story of the human, economic, and environmental tragedy resulting from the border wall and our nation’s dysfunctional immigration policies. Those that believe the desert is devoid of life need read no further than the first chapter to be overwhelmed and awed by the extraordinary description of the web of life that is the border region—from the amazing wildlife and plant communities to the people who have lived their lives with a foot planted in both countries for centuries. Our nation’s borders are just political boundaries, but life flows back and forth over this entire border like water. Krista’s journey started with a camera, but what she saw through her lens moved her to action. Krista mobilized dozens of other nature photographers like herself to join together on the border for a RAVE (Rapid Assessment Visual Expedition), a “visual expedition to places where regular reporters do not go and where the stories that matter to our planet are being told.” Sponsored by Defenders of Wildlife, the Sierra Club, and the International League of Conservation Photographers, the RAVE resulted in a traveling exhibit that went from the halls of Congress to Wyoming and California, helping to educate the country on the impacts of the border wall. The RAVE and Krista’s eloquent depiction of the desert are enough to transform anyone who has not visited this region into an admirer of x this mysterious and magical landscape. But Krista is not satisfied with admirers, she wants advocates. So she has gone far beyond her articulate description of the desert to educate us on the politics that have led us to a battle on our border. Her exploration of the political history of this region proves that man and politics are harsher and more unforgiving than anything that Mother Nature has dished out in this searing desert climate. Clearly our treatment of this region and the people and wildlife that have shared it for centuries has been a bipartisan disaster and an embarrassing disappointment . Once the political history is unraveled, one has to wonder what our country’s leaders value most of all: hate, fear, and money; or family, moral responsibility, stewardship, and our own children’s future? As a former director of the US Fish and Wildlife Service and the current president of Defenders of Wildlife, an advocacy group that led the charge to protect our nation’s treasured wildlife and natural resources from the punishment that the wall has brought, I am disturbed by what our country has done. On the one hand, we made a promise to ourselves to conserve, protect , and cherish our wildlife and other natural resources. We created a myriad of national wildlife refuges, parks, and monuments to protect the amazing diversity of wildlands and wildlife that make up our border with Mexico. We support laws such as the Endangered Species Act, the Clean Water Act, the Clean Air Act, and the Antiquities Act to protect our wildlife, special places, life-nurturing natural resources, and historic treasures. Yet, this same country is willing to destroy all that we have committed to treasure and protect. We have bulldozed 100-yearold cactus, gouged roads through mountain wilderness, and fenced rolling rivers. We have passed legislation to make the region into a police state, sacrificing all that we treasure, all that Congress has passed laws to protect. f o r e w o r d | x i And for what? To keep our neighboring countrymen from crossing the border looking for a better life? There has to be a better way. There’s still time to undo the destruction we have caused. Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle have expressed the need for immigration reform, knowing that the wall is not the answer. I certainly agree; we need a different game plan for this region. Share this book with your elected officials; share it with your friends and neighbors. Be part of the solution. It’s time to learn from the...