MEDIA ADVISORY: On Abbott's Adoption of Trump's 'Border Wall' Scam
(Mission, TX) – For the last four years, the National Butterfly Center has been a vocal critic of border wall scams promoted by Former President Trump and his surrogate, Steve Bannon. Unfortunately, Governor Greg Abbott has foolishly decided to adopt their signature campaign platform.
“In a desperate attempt to deflect from his on-going failures to protect the people of Texas from an array of ills, it appears Gov. Abbott has turned to the myth of invasion from Mexico, of criminal immigrants and lawlessness on the southern border to buoy his own political ambitions,” states Marianna Trevino Wright, executive director of the National Butterfly Center. “Too bad for him the good people of this great state have long memories.
“From the banks of the Rio Grande River, in Hidalgo County, Texas, we reject and deny, without reservation, the false claims Governor Abbott has made about our community—about all communities on the border—as well as his claim to care about residents of la frontera,” continued Wright. “Moreover, as long our property and that of our neighbors remain in the crosshairs of conniving government officials, we will not cease to shine a light on the trite border wall scam and advocate for border security initiatives that represent more than opportunistic grifts and delusional fantasies.”
As a border landowner, the center has fought the destruction and seizure of private and public lands for border wall that cannot keep anyone or anything out of the United States because the barrier is built so far inland—often more than one mile—from the actual border. They have also opposed the waiver of laws for border wall construction, waste of taxpayer monies and lack of transparency in the former president’s corrupt pursuit of his “Build the Wall” con.
At present, the center’s parent organization, the North American Butterfly Association, is a plaintiff against the Department of Homeland Security for violating Fifth Amendment protections and We Build the Wall, Inc., Fisher Sand & Gravel and Neuhaus & Sons, for their illegal acts that will result in property damage and loss to the nonprofit organization.
To learn more about the National Butterfly Center, and how you can support our good work, visit www.nationalbutterflycenter.org. Your annual membership and charitable gifts impact the beauty of our community and help preserve the biologically diverse, natural treasures of deep South Texas.
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The National Butterfly Center is committed to ‘Growing Connections’ between people, plants, and the winged wonders that pollinate and propagate all that grows around us. We do this through educational and environmental initiatives that cultivate meaningful understanding of the processes that create sustainable ecosystems. The Center is open to the public, for visitors and members, seven days/week.
National Butterfly Center Expansion Adds 350 Acres
(Mission, TX) – Dr. Jeffrey Glassberg, president and founder of the North American Butterfly Association (NABA), recently announced the organization’s acquisition of an additional 350 acres of land in the Lower Rio Grande Valley of Texas, for the benefit of wild, free-flying butterflies.
Thanks to a generous donation from The Nature Conservancy, NABA has taken possession of the property formerly known as ‘Chihuahua Woods,’ located just six miles west of NABA’s flagship project, the National Butterfly Center. The newly acquired acreage will now be named ‘Pixie Preserve,’ with distinct hours of operation to be published as soon as it is ready to reopen to the public.
So you Want to Save a Species?
National Butterfly Center Requesting Help from Citizen Scientists
(Mission, TX) – The National Butterfly Center is calling all citizen scientists to assist with a native plant survey across one dozen South Texas counties, in search of two species of succulent, Texas Tuberose (Manfreda maculosa) and Longflower Tuberose (Manfreda longiflora). These two plant species are limited in both range and in numbers. As a result, the butterfly that depends upon it as host, the Manfreda Giant Skipper (Stallingsia maculosus), has practically disappeared from the landscape.
Thanks to funding from the James A. “Buddy” Davidson Charitable Foundation, the center is organizing an all-volunteer effort to identify manfreda populations on public and private lands south of Travis County, according to known current and historical plant populations. Scouting and monitoring would take place April – June and August – October, during the plants’ flowering seasons, because the species are so similar in appearance they may be best distinguished by their blooms. Landowners who know or suspect they have manfreda present are also encouraged to participate.
Once located and positively identified, the geographic information for the plant populations will be recorded, along with the number of specimens, size, physical condition and other relevant data, including any evidence of caterpillar or butterfly activity. Wherever possible, frass traps would be set to enhance detection of the Manfreda Giant Skipper.
Participants would be required to visit their assigned plants for inspection at two times per week, during the 6-8 week blooming period. Visitation would cease after seeds from the plants were collected, if allowed, so they may be labeled and catalogued for propagation. Volunteers are eligible to receive a small stipend for fuel.
“We are grateful to the investment the James A. “Buddy” Davidson Charitable Foundation is making in this study,” states Marianna Trevino Wright, executive director of the National Butterfly Center. “The Manfreda Giant Skipper is a natural treasure few have ever seen, and one that may soon be lost as its host plant becomes increasingly rare. Unfortunately, the plant populations that sustain the butterfly are shrinking due to property development, right-of-way maintenance and predation by javelina and feral hogs; so, this initiative is the first step in determining the extent to which this unique Texan still has a home here.”
Two virtual meetings will be hosted by the center in March to educate and train volunteers for this Covid-friendly, outdoor activity. Anyone interested in volunteering or learning more about the Manfreda Conservation Project is encouraged to call 956.583.5400 or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
To learn more about the National Butterfly Center, and how you can join us, visit www.nationalbutterflycenter.org. Your annual membership or charitable gift impacts the beauty of our community and helps preserve the biologically diverse, natural treasures of deep South Texas.
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The National Butterfly Center is committed to ‘Growing Connections’ between people, plants, and the winged wonders that pollinate and propagate all that grows around us. We do this through educational and environmental initiatives that cultivate meaningful understanding of the processes that create sustainable ecosystems. The Center is open to the public, for visitors and members, seven days/week.
National Butterfly Center Obtains Temporary Restraining Order Against Brian Kolfage and We Build the Wall
Mission, Texas, Dec. 4, 2019 – The North American Butterfly Association has been granted a temporary restraining order in a lawsuit filed in state district court in Texas to stop construction of a “border wall” on the banks of the Rio Grande River by We Build the Wall, Inc., and its founder Brian Kolfage of Miramar, Florida.
“In order to protect our investment and preserve the land on which the National Butterfly Center sits, we have no choice but to take legal action, especially when confronted with a man-made threat like this,” said Dr. Jeffrey Glassberg, president and founder of the North American Butterfly Association, a nonprofit organization that has been at the forefront of the battle against the seizure of private property for border wall construction for more than two years.
The government’s planned border wall in the Rio Grande Valley would not be built on the banks of the river in the floodplain but would follow the path of an existing inland earthen levee. The Kolfage/We Build the Wall project would be a freestanding structure that does not connect to any of the barriers authorized and funded by Congress and overseen by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
We Build the Wall began as a Go Fund Me campaign to help fund the Government’s proposed border wall. After discovering that the raised funds could not be donated to the United States Government, We Build the Wall decided to construct its own wall on private property along the southwestern border. Even though the not-for-profit entity has been in existence for less than a year, it has already come under criminal investigation by the Florida Department of Agriculture and Services, which has oversight of nonprofits and charities in the state.
After building less than one-half mile of wall on private property in Sunland Park, N.M, earlier this year, We Build the Wall has come to Mission to build three miles of wall on property owned by Neuhaus & Sons, LLC, near the National Butterfly Center.
According to the suit filed in Hidalgo County on Dec. 3, We Build the Wall “has entered into an agreement with Defendant Neuhaus to build an unpermitted and potentially illegal barrier on the banks of the Rio Grande River.” Furthermore, the organization has ignored the official request of the U.S. Section of the International Boundary and Water Commission (IBWC) to cease construction of the wall until the agency has received and reviewed the studies and engineering plans necessary to ensure compliance with international treaties. Under 22 U.S. Code § 277d–34, the IBWC is authorized “to preserve the Rio Grande and the Colorado River as the boundary by preventing the construction of works which may cause deflection or obstruction of the normal flow of the rivers or of their floodflows.”
The North American Butterfly Association asserts that the construction of a permanent steel barrier within the Rio Grande floodplain would cause a redirection of surface water during flooding events. This redirection of water, upstream and down, along with the accompanying debris, would cause permanent damage to neighboring properties, including the National Butterfly Center in Mission.
The National Butterfly Center is committed to “Growing Connections” between people, plants, and the winged wonders that pollinate and propagate all that grows around us. We do this through educational and environmental initiatives that cultivate meaningful understanding of the processes that create sustainable ecosystems. The Center is open to the public, for visitors and members, seven days/week.
To learn more about the National Butterfly Center and how you can join us, visit www.nationalbutterflycenter.org or call 956-583-5400. Your annual membership or charitable gift impacts the beauty of our community and helps preserve the biologically diverse, natural treasures of deep South Texas.
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Emmy Award-winning Film Maker to Speak at 24th Annual Texas Butterfly Festival
(Mission, TX) – The keynote speaker for the 24th annual Texas Butterfly Festival is Emmy Award-winning film maker Ann Johnson Prum. Producer and cinematographer for the PBS Nature feature film, Sex, Lies & Butterflies, filmed in part at the National Butterfly Center, Prum is delighted to return to the Rio Grande Valley to observe and learn more about the incredible biodiversity located here, as well as the deleterious effects of Trump’s proposed border wall.
When asked about her previous experience at the center, she stated, “I am excited to revisit the National Butterfly Center and the Rio Grande Valley! In most cases, my films focus on one species at a time, because I like to do a deep dive and learn all I can in order to bring that to the viewer—and there is so much more to see, here.”
Concerning butterflies and the annual festival, Prum asserts, “There are so many butterfly stories that haven’t been told. Beyond the Monarch, most people know very little about the plethora of pollinators that make life sustainable on planet Earth.”
She continues, “Why do we only know about this one species, when they all matter?”
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