The topic of the border wall between the United States and Mexico continues to be broadly and hotly debated: on national news media; by local and state governments; and even in coffee shops and over the dinner table. By now; broad segments of the population have heard widely varying opinions about the wallrsquo;s effect on illegal immigration; international politics; and the drug war.But what about the wallrsquo;s effect on the Sonoran pronghorn antelope herds and the kit fox? On the Mexican gray wolf; the ocelot; the jaguar; and the bighorn sheep? In unforgettable images and evocative text; Continental Divide: Wildlife; People; and the Border Wall helps readers understand all that is at stake.As Krista Schlyer explains; the remoteness of this region from most US citizensrsquo; lives; coupled with the news mediarsquo;s focus on illegal immigration and drug violence; has left many with an incomplete picture. As she reminds us; this largely isolated natural area; stretching from the Pacific Ocean to the Gulf of Mexico; hosts a number of rare ecosystems: Arizonarsquo;s last free-flowing river; the San Pedro; the grasslands of New Mexico; some of the last undeveloped prairies on the continent; the single most diverse birding area in the US; located along the lower Rio Grande River in Texas; and habitat and migration corridors for some of both nationsrsquo; most imperiled species.?In documenting the changes to the ecosystems and human communities along the border while the wall was being built; Schlyer realized that the impacts of immigration policy on wildlife; on landowners; and on border towns were not fully understood by either policy makers or the general public. The wall not only has disrupted the ancestral routes of wildlife; it has also rerouted human traffic through the most pristine and sensitive of wildlands; causing additional destruction; conflict; and deathmdash;without solving the original problem.
2012-07-21 2012-07-21File Name: B008NSNSEG
Review
