Border Lands Conservation Act

S. 2967, the Border Lands Conservation Act, would modify how federal agencies manage public lands along the U.S. borders with Mexico and Canada. The bill would authorize the Department of Homeland Security to conduct border security activities on federal lands within 100 miles of these borders, including constructing roads, installing infrastructure, and deploying vehicles and personnel. It would require the Secretaries of Interior and Agriculture to inventory existing roads and construct new navigable roads on federal lands to improve border access, and would establish a Border Fuels Management Initiative to reduce hazardous fuels and invasive species on these lands.

The bill would also prohibit federal funds from being used to house undocumented immigrants on federal lands except in detention facilities, and would require reporting on environmental damage and safety impacts from unauthorized border crossings. The legislation would protect existing legal land uses like grazing and mining, and would not apply to state, private, or tribal lands. However, the bill would remove restrictions that land management agencies can place on border patrol activities in wilderness areas and national parks, which has raised concerns among conservation groups about potential impacts on wildlife habitat, recreation, and environmental protections in areas like Big Bend and Glacier National Parks.