Bulldozers just showed up inside Big Bend National Park.

28 environmental regulations waived. A $1.7 billion contract quietly awarded to a subsidiary created specifically to protect its parent company’s brand. Bipartisan local opposition from Republican sheriffs, judges, and congressional nominees. And one of the darkest, most protected skies in America — at risk.

This is the story that should be national news. And it isn’t getting nearly enough coverage. In this urgent episode, I sit down with Chris Keyes — executive director and founder of RE:PUBLIC, a publication dedicated to covering America’s public lands — to break down exactly what’s happening on the ground at Big Bend, why it matters, and what you can do right now.

A note from Missy: I’ve been watching my feed light up about Big Bend for weeks. Every time I looked into it, I found a story that was more complicated and more consequential than the last update. Chris Keyes and the team at RE:PUBLIC are doing the journalism that most outlets aren’t. Follow them at republic.land and sign up for their newsletter — it’s one of the best ways to stay informed on what’s actually happening to our public lands.

Sunrise at Big Bend National Park

Episode Guest

Chris Keyes — Executive Director & Founder
RE:PUBLIC republic.land

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If you live in Texas, your state senator, state representative, and the governor’s office have direct influence over whether this moves forward. Local resistance creates leverage in Washington.

About RE:PUBLIC

RE:PUBLIC is a publication dedicated to covering America’s public lands — telling the stories about what’s happening on the ground that most media outlets aren’t. Founded by Chris Keyes after 25 years in media, RE:PUBLIC was created in response to the 75% decline in local working journalists over the past two decades. Follow them at republic.land and sign up for their newsletter for updates twice a week.

Show Notes & Links

Transcript

Big Bend National Park — What’s Happening on the Ground and How to Help
The Parks Podcast, Episode 80 | Chris Keyes, Executive Director & Founder, RE:PUBLIC
What Triggered This Conversation — Bulldozers in Big Bend

Missy Rentz: I’m really excited to welcome Chris Keyes, who is the executive director and founder of RE:PUBLIC, and you can find them at republic.land. This is a really important episode where we’re going to talk about Big Bend, and Chris, thank you so much for being part of this conversation.

Chris Keyes: Thanks so much for having me.

Missy: I have wanted to talk about Big Bend since my social feed was on again, off again, and I’m so grateful that we were introduced to each other because you can bring it together. We were going to talk last week, and then late last week a lot happened on Big Bend. So perhaps you can tell us what’s the status of Big Bend, and why is it important that we’re having this conversation?

Chris: So the big headline from last week — why there was so much activity — was that bulldozers and other large machinery showed up inside Big Bend National Park and were starting to work on the border wall. But to back up for a moment: this whole project kicked off in February of this year when former Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem announced that they were waiving more than 28 environmental regulations to allow for construction of a border wall through Big Bend National Park.

Chris: It became an incredibly confusing situation — as you said, “on again, off again” — because there was no transparency coming out of Customs and Border Patrol, which is overseeing the project. No transparency coming out of the Department of Interior about exactly what this wall was going to look like. All that journalists really had to go by was a map on the Customs and Border Patrol website that indicated what types of wall would be constructed in different areas. So you have everything from the classic wall that we’ve come to understand — 15-foot steel bollards — but in certain areas they have more virtual fencing, surveillance technology being put in, or roads put in. So it was never quite clear what they planned inside the park specifically. At the same time, there was a ton of local opposition to what’s happening on the ground and curiosity about what was happening in the park, because this is an incredibly rural area and a region that depends heavily on the tourism industry that comes through Big Bend.

Chris: And so you have bipartisan opposition on the local level — from Republicans and Democrats — to what’s being proposed inside the park. Flash forward to last week, and I think everybody was taken by surprise that the bulldozers finally showed up. We know that they plan to build a surveillance road through the park. We don’t know what shape that’s going to take, what exactly that’s going to involve, whether there will be any physical wall inside the park as well. And so there are activists on the ground chronicling the work that’s happening right now in the riparian zone right along the Rio Grande River. But there’s still not a clear, concrete understanding of what they’re building.

Is This a High-Priority Immigration Area?

Missy: I have so many questions for you. Let’s first go into — this is a Homeland Security immigration move. Is this region known for having immigration issues?

Chris: It would not be fair to say that they’ve never had migration issues here, but between 2023 and 2025 the amount of migrants coming through this area was reduced by close to 75%. So they’ve already solved a lot of it. Second thing to understand is how incredibly remote and barren this landscape is. Also, the fact that you have a major canyon — Santa Elena Canyon — with 100 to, in some places, 1,000-foot cliffs. There’s already a natural barrier here. And I believe that in terms of the overall migrants coming through the Big Bend sector — which ranges from parts of the park but also areas on both sides of the park — it’s something like 1.3% of overall migrants coming into the United States that have been coming through this area. So it is not an area of high activity, and not an area where 15-foot steel bollards are really necessary.

The Contract — $1.7 Billion and a Controversial Subsidiary

Missy: And then when it comes to process — in a normal situation, we would know what was planned certainly before it was contracted out. And this was contracted out way back in February, and we, anybody… we still don’t know what they’re doing. But even long before we knew what was planned —

Chris: Yeah. The company that has the contract — it’s a $1.7 billion contract, which is the largest contract along the wall project, I believe, at this stage. And probably a lot of that has to do with the remote location and how hard it is to work in this area. It was given to the Kiewit Corporation. All of the work, however, is being done under a subsidiary they created called Southwest Valley Constructors Company, and the speculation is that they created the subsidiary to protect the brand name of Kiewit, because this is such a controversial project.

The 28 Waived Environmental Regulations

Missy: Okay, then you talked about all of the environmental regulations that were abandoned in order to start this project. What were they, and what’s that impact going to be on the park and on our public lands?

Chris: I believe there are 28 of them, and I can’t name them all. But I’ll name the big ones that people will be most familiar with. Things like the Endangered Species Act — because you have to remember, across the border in Mexico is also a massive national park. So this is a huge migration corridor for lots of animals that don’t know that this is an international boundary and are constantly crossing back and forth. This puts a lot of these animals at risk depending on what kind of barriers they’re suddenly going to face in this area. You have the Clean Water Act, which is also waived to do this. And then NEPA — the National Environmental Policy Act — which is really the governing environmental review process that affects all public lands. So whenever there’s a major project being proposed for public lands, they have to go through the NEPA process of doing an environmental impact statement, getting input from all the local communities, and then reviewing whether this can go forward or not. So that’s all being waived.

Chris: All of those things that slow down a project of this magnitude are just off the table. And a federal judge just ruled that DHS — which is the agency that waived these rules — is within their legal scope and is allowed to do this, because they’ve declared a state of emergency with immigration, and that allows for this kind of waiving of existing environmental regulations.

Chris: The last thing I would say related to that — regardless of where you come down on immigration, and whether you even believe that a wall should be here — so much of this administration’s rhetoric around public lands is that we need to listen to the local communities. These decisions shouldn’t be made at the federal level. They should be made at a local level more often. This will have a clear detrimental effect on the local economy of the Big Bend region. And as I said before, you have bipartisan opposition — local Republican sheriffs, local judges have all come out and made pretty bold statements in opposition to what they’re building here. One called this a boondoggle because it’s not necessary given the natural barriers that are already in place.

What Else Is at Stake — Wildlife, the Economy, and the Darkest Skies in America

Missy: And isn’t it one of the darkest skies in the country?

Chris: Yeah. If you’ve ever been down there, it’s just — it’s like you’ve never seen the stars before once you see it in that region, because there’s really no major community surrounding this area. There’s a tiny town of Terlingua, but that’s about it. You also have what is one of the few recognized dark skies areas of the United States. We really need to protect those places because there are fewer and fewer. And usually when they build these border surveillance roads, there are a lot of lights and other things that are going to disturb that dark skies initiative that is out there.

Missy: We the American people are so lucky to have your team at RE:PUBLIC and other media. RE:PUBLIC is a publication dedicated to telling stories about our public lands, and because we’re not getting information, it’s taking all the journalists that are on the ground to uncover what’s really going on.

Chris: That’s right. I think the reason that we started RE:PUBLIC is that I’ve been in media for 25 years, and throughout that time there’s been a tremendous amount of contraction, particularly local newspapers. I think we have 75% fewer working journalists on the local level than we had two decades ago. And so when you have this tremendous contraction, and then you have a commercial media environment where the incentives for public interest journalism just aren’t there from a monetary standpoint — you have your New York Times and your Washington Post, which still do a lot of great public interest journalism, but they are the exception. They have tremendous resources compared to what most outlets have. So when it comes to covering the environment and public lands in particular, there are just fewer and fewer outlets covering this story. And last week I recorded a reel for Instagram about what’s happening on the ground in Big Bend right now, and one of the first comments was, “I can’t believe this isn’t national news.” And I think that speaks to why we exist and why other outlets covering this space exist — because there are just fewer and fewer people paying attention to what’s happening on the ground. And that’s why it’s so critical that we support journalism at all levels so that people have this awareness and can put a stop to things when they feel passionate about it.

Missy: And I think this is where social media can be used for good. It gets a bad reputation, but because there are people like you, people like me that are putting information out there, something very easy that listeners can do is share what we are putting out so that people can be informed — because they aren’t getting the message in the mainstream media right now.

Chris: Yes, that’s right.

What You Can Do — Public Pressure, Organizations, and Your Representatives

Missy: Okay, so what can be done about this? Because it just feels like it’s a done deal. But what do we do? How can we make our voices heard?

Chris: It’s never a done deal. I think it’s all about public pressure. Naming the company — Kiewit Corporation — that’s behind this: they’re probably not going to quickly turn their back on a $1.7 billion project. But all companies are not immune to public criticism, and I think public criticism of this project is growing. So spreading the word, amplifying stories about this on social media and other places, is critical. Supporting some of the organizations that are fighting this in court — the Center for Biological Diversity is one of the big ones. But there are many organizations on the ground — just do some quick research to find out which organizations are working to fight the Big Bend wall. Lend your support, whether through volunteer efforts, amplifying their coverage, or giving small or large donations — it can make a critical difference.

Chris: And then I’ll list what everybody always says and what I’ve come to learn actually does have a real impact, which is calling and writing your senator and congressperson. It’s the oldest piece of advice on how to get involved with these kinds of issues, and I think we all tend to have it wash over us and think, “Oh, again?” But it’s really what makes a difference. And I think particularly in Texas, there are a lot of people who support a border wall but also see that maybe not in Big Bend National Park. What are our other options? And so particularly on a local level — if you live in Texas and you’re calling your state senator, your state representative, the governor’s office — we need to be putting pressure on those more local politicians, because they’re going to have more influence over whether this happens or not. The more local resistance there is, the more leverage they have in Washington.

Missy: Yeah. And one thing I have learned by having these conversations is that you might not live there, but if your business does business there, then you still have a voice.

Chris: That’s right.

Missy: And because of the time of our election cycle, I think we can add: vote. Vote is a big way that you can make sure that your voice is heard. And as we get closer, there will be a lot of information on the voting records of our politicians when it comes to the environment, and I think that’s an important thing.

Chris: Yeah. And I would just emphasize on that point too — a lot of the environmental issues, for a variety of reasons, have started to in the last 10 to 15 years been all either coded right or left. So if it’s an environmental piece, you can count on Democrats supporting the environmental aspect of it and Republicans opposing. This is a clear bipartisan opposition. I was just reading this morning that the Republican congressional nominee for the district that Big Bend is in has come out opposed to this project.

Missy: Wow.

Chris: Yeah.

What Else to Watch — The Ambler Road in Alaska

Missy: Okay, so before we wrap up — you have your hands in all of the things that are going on in public lands. We’ve just come off of Chaco Culture, the Triumphal Arch in DC, Bears Ears, and Grand Staircase-Escalante. It was a wild July. We’re now focused on Big Bend. What else do we need to watch out for? What’s coming that we should all start to get informed about?

Chris: In terms of the project that I’m most passionate about and most watching, I think it’s one that’s very far away for most Americans — it’s called the Ambler Road project in Alaska. This is a 200-mile industrial road that they’re building in a completely undeveloped area of Alaska that is critical for wildlife, and it’s one of the last few pure wilderness regions that we have left. This road would cross, in those 200 miles, over 4,000 streams. So you think about the water quality and the importance of that water up in Alaska. And this is all in support of a mine that is foreign-owned, so it’s not even to benefit Americans. And what’s most problematic about this road is that once it’s built, it’s going to allow for all kinds of feeder roads and other industrial activity up there. So it’s really a kind of watershed moment of whether this road gets built or not. There’s a lot of attention starting to build on it, but it’s one I think more Americans should really key in on.

Missy: Would you be willing to come back and have a conversation just on that?

Chris: Absolutely. Yeah.

Missy: That would be great. And I welcome you anytime, because I think having your input — or anybody from your team’s input — on what’s going on is really helpful to educate us on what we need to know and how do we help.

Chris: Yeah. And actually I’d be happy to come on myself. I am working with a writer who just spent a month up in Alaska walking the Ambler Road corridor — they walked about 200 miles of pure wilderness and got a real sense, and they’re making a little film about it. That would be a great guest as well.

Missy: Oh, that’s wonderful. Yeah. Okay, maybe we’ll tag team that one. Okay, so for Big Bend — thank you for teaching us about what’s going on. Write to your representatives, get educated, follow RE:PUBLIC, and I will put all the links that you’ve mentioned in our show notes.

Chris: Wonderful. Yeah, just a reminder to everybody — it’s republic.land, and you can sign up for our newsletter there where you’ll get updates twice a week.

Missy: Chris, thanks for joining The Parks Podcast. I really appreciate it.

Chris: Thanks for having me.

Missy: Thanks for listening. Until next time — we’ll see you in the parks.

Music for The Parks Podcast is performed and produced by Porter Hardy. Follow us @TheParksPodcast or visit TheParksPodcast.com.