A Natural Treasure That May End Up Without a Country - New York Times Annotated

WHERE THE CHACHALACAS CHATTER The Sabal Palm Audubon Center in Brownsville, Tex., named for the stocky palm trees of the Rio Grande Valley, is home to rare birds and other wildlife, and may end up on the Mexico side of a planned border fence.

By DAN BARRY

Published: April 7, 2008

BROWNSVILLE, Tex.

At the very bottom of this country, where the Rio Grande loops up and down as if determined to thwart territorial imperatives, there sits a natural wonderland called the Sabal Palm Audubon Center. Rare birds of impossible colors dart about the rustling jungle, while snakes slink, tortoises dawdle and the occasional ocelot grants a rare sighting.

After decades of reclamation and preservation, and after millions of public and private dollars spent, this has become a vital place in one of the nation’s very poorest cities.

This Land

Dan Barry takes readers behind news articles and into obscure and well-known corners of the United States. His column appears every Monday.

Dan Barry’s Columnist Page »

Multimedia

This Land: The Wrong Side of the Fence

Ángel Franco/The New York Times

“It would be like putting a fence around Central Park,” said Jimmy Paz, the manager.

The guardians of Sabal Palm fear, and with good reason, that in trying to keep out illegal immigrants, the Department of Homeland Security will soon be erecting the border fence just north of the bird sanctuary, effectively trimming this natural treasure from the rest of the country and probably forcing its closure.

Conservationists and landowners worry that the Fence will also cut across a river-hugging wildlife corridor that stretches over several Texas counties, painstakingly restored and maintained by, among others, the federal government.

Online: Jimmy Paz, manager of the Sabal Palm Audubon Center, talks about the center’s history and its endangered future, nytimes.com/thisland.