Environmental rules hurting border security
Environmental laws protecting grizzlies and other wild animals along rural portions of the U.S.-Canada border have handcuffed U.S. Border Patrol and Department of Homeland Security agents, potentially making it easier for would-be terrorists to slip into the country.
By Sean Lengell at Washington Times
As if fighting terrorism weren’t complicated enough, the United States has a new national security threat to worry about: grizzly bears.
Republicans on the House Natural Resources Committee say that environmental laws protecting grizzlies and other wild animals along rural portions of the U.S.-Canada border have handcuffed U.S. Border Patrol and Department of Homeland Security agents, potentially making it easier for would-be terrorists to slip into the country.
Trucks and off-road vehicles are prohibited along much of the border in order to protect bears moving between the two countries. But such laws make it difficult for agents to patrol these areas, the lawmakers say.
Border agents can request access permission from the Interior Department and other federal land agencies that control much of the border. But agents often must act quickly to deal with security threats, making the permission process unfeasible, the Republicans say.
“Unfortunately, restrictive policies created and enforced by the Interior Department and federal land managers are preventing the U.S. Border Patrol from providing the maximum amount of security on some of our most vulnerable border areas,” said Rep. Rob Bishop of Utah, the top Republican on the House’s national parks, forests and public lands subcommittee.
“Until these policies are reversed, the safety and security of this country remain in jeopardy.”
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