The city of San Diego has filed suit against the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, accusing federal authorities of unlawfully installing razor-wire fencing inside a city-owned wildlife preserve near the southern border, a move the city says is scarring protected land and violating environmental law.
The lawsuit, filed Monday in California federal court, centers on Marron Valley, a property San Diego has owned for more than a century. City officials say the project is blocking San Diego from meeting its obligations under the Multiple Species Conservation Program, which governs the preservation of sensitive habitats.
A Conservation Site Turned Construction Zone
According to the complaint, the land was formally designated in 1997 as “critical environmental habitat” under the Cornerstone Lands Conservation Bank Agreement, entered into by the city, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife and the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service.
“The construction of and access to where the border barrier has been and is being constructed has done and is doing damage to wildlife habitats,” the city alleged, including areas that support endangered and otherwise protected species.
San Diego says it never authorized federal use of the property. The city claims it expects construction of the border barrier to be completed as soon as next week unless the court intervenes.
