National Parks Traveler Podcast · Kurt Repanshek

National Parks Traveler Podcast | Big Bend's Big Wall

·50 min·3 clips

A border wall could cut off river access, block wildlife, and bring stadium lighting to the darkest night sky in the United States.

Big Bend National Park is the focus of the conversation. Kurt Repencheck opens by framing the park as one of the main reasons to visit West Texas. He points out that Big Bend drew more attention in 2020, when pandemic-era travelers were looking for places to spend time outdoors. The park still feels remote, and that remoteness is part of what makes it appealing. It also draws outdoor enthusiasts and outdoor writers who value its rawness and ruggedness. The new pressure is coming from a different direction. Customs and Border Patrol has said it wants to build some kind of border wall along all or part of the park's 118 miles of border with Mexico. Repencheck asks whether that is a good idea, whether it would harm the park, and whether it can even happen. Bob Krummenacker joins him to work through those questions. Krummenacker is a former Big Bend superintendent. He also chairs Keep Big Bend Wild, the group pushing to see a large portion of the park designated as official wilderness. The two talk through the park's value as a place that was established for reasons that do not sit comfortably with a wall. Krummenacker says changing the park for border construction would not make sense. He also notes that the public information about the proposal is still inconsistent. There is no clear timeline. Some material on the agency website suggests construction could start as early as May, but that picture keeps shifting. The conversation stays grounded in Big Bend itself and keeps circling back to what the wall might mean for the park's terrain, its visitors, and the idea of wilderness. The episode ends with a reminder that elected officials can be pressed to oppose the project. Taken together, it is a park report, a policy discussion, and a defense of keeping Big Bend wild.

As heard by us

A calm, park-level look at what a proposed wall could mean for Big Bend.

Big Bend is the focus, with the episode asking whether a wall could be built along part or all of the 118 miles the park shares with Mexico, and what that would mean for a place shaped by remoteness and rough terrain.

Read the full review in PlayNext →

Why you'd press play

You want a straight read on what a border wall could do to Big Bend.

Read the full recommendation in PlayNext →

Listen to the show on

Apple Podcasts Spotify

Play clips from this episode More from National Parks Traveler Podcast