During my senior year of high school, I took a job as a student docent for Texas Parks and Wildlife at Fort Leaton State Historic site in Presidio, TX. While I worked there I learned things about Big Bend National Park and the wildlife of the Chihuahuan desert that opened my eyes to the beauty of the area. With this wealth of knowledge at my side, I naturally chose the challenging topic of conservation, but with the added twist of including the controversial establishment of the fence along the US-Mexican border.
I chose Maderas del Carmen because not only was it one of the worlds lesser known parks, but also because of the richness of the area even after years of exploitation and extirpation of many species. The area is very similar to Big Bend National Park in Texas and as I researched the area, I could only think about how if Big Bend had not been declared a National Park, it would have gone through the same tragedy that Maderas del Carmen went through. Then as I researched the fence on the border, I realized how it not only jeopardized Big Bend National Park, but it also jeopardizes the fragile ecosystem of Maderas del Carmen.
The establishment of this website was not only to showcase my assignments for English 1312, but also to serve as a medium of sorts to introduce visitors to one of the lesser known problems of the border fence: The Endangerment of Natural Beauty.
