NATIONAL BUTTERFLY CENTER

The wildlife sanctuary’s conservation work has been overshadowed by political drama over its location on the border.

KSAT 12 visited the National Butterfly Center in Mission, Texas where the Monarchs will soon be swarming their native vegetation by the thousands.

Over the past few years, several studies have shown that at least 40% of the world’s insects are dying at a rapid rate, and some research shows that 90% of certain species have already been wiped out.

However, it's only open for members.

The federal government is close to reaching a settlement agreement with the builder of a 3-mile stretch of private border wall along the banks of the Rio Grande south of Mission.

The National Butterfly Center, along the U.S.-Mexico border in Mission, has been the target of conspiracy theorists since 2019.

Threats from QAnon conspiracists have forced a butterfly sanctuary in the Rio Grande Valley to close.

The National Butterfly Center is dropping a portion of a lawsuit it filed against the builders of a private border wall south of Mission.

The National Butterfly Center is dropping a portion of a lawsuit it filed against the builders of a private border wall south of Mission.

Conspiracy theories have claimed the sanctuary, which is on the banks of the Rio Grande, was helping to bring illegal migrants to the U.S.

South Texas butterfly sanctuary closes indefinitely due to QAnon conspiracies, escalating threats

The National Butterfly Center, along the U.S.-Mexico border in Mission, has been the target of conspiracy theorists since 2019.

The National Butterfly Center in Mission, Texas, has been embroiled in political turmoil after fighting against the erection of a border wall.

The National Butterfly Center is dropping the lawsuit it filed against the builders of a private border wall south of Mission. The center filed its motion to dismiss with prejudice its “prospective nuisance” complaint on Wednesday morning. In December 2019, the butterfly center’s parent organization, the North American Butterfly Association, sued several defendants involved in the construction of a 3-mile stretch of private border wall along the banks of the Rio Grande south of Mission. There, Crane has also been presiding over a separate lawsuit against the private wall builders filed by the federal government. A week after the center filed its suit, the government — on behalf of the International Boundary and Water Commission — filed a lawsuit alleging that the private wall threatened to put the United States in violation of a 1970 international boundary treaty with Mexico.

On Tuesday, the board of directors of the North American Butterfly Association announced...

A right-wing congressional candidate allegedly assaulted a staff member.

Amid recent negative attention from right-wing conspiracy theorists, the National Butterfly Center announced it will be closed to the public for the immediate future. The board of directors of the North American Butterfly Association made the decision to close the center to both members and visitors on Tuesday following visits from right-wing activists targeting the center. “The safety of our staff and visitors is our primary concern,” Dr. Jeffrey Glassberg, president and founder of the North American Butterfly Association, said in a news release Wednesday. “We look forward to reopening, soon, when the authorities and professionals who are helping us navigate this situation give us the green light.”The board will continue to pay the staff during the closure. “We sincerely apologize for the inconvenience this may cause to members and visitors, many of whom plan trips months in advance, to experience this truly exceptional place,” Marianna Trevino Wright, executive director of the NBC, said Wednesday.

Marianna Treviño Wright, executive director of the National Butterfly Center and outspoken opponent of the border wall, says she was assaulted last week by a congressional candidate from Virginia. Treviño Wright claims that Kimberly Lowe, who is seeking the Republican nomination for the 9th Congressional District of Virginia, assaulted her after Lowe and another woman allegedly trespassed on the center’s property Jan. 21. Treviño Wright says the two women entered the butterfly center’s visitor center, where she told them that they were not welcome on the private property, and that the road they were trying to access also belongs to the butterfly center. Both Treviño Wright and Lowe contacted Mission police to report the incident, a fact confirmed by Mission police Thursday. Meanwhile, the National Butterfly Center announced via Twitter on Thursday that it would be closing its doors from Friday through Sunday due to “credible threats” it had received.

The companies have collected money from businesses.

The butterfly facility will be closed throughout the weekend.

MISSION — The National Butterfly Center was fluttering with community members for the 25th annual Texas Butterfly Festival. The festival started off with Community Day on Saturday, where visitors could partake in family friendly activities and learn about the Rio Grande Valley’s wildlife. The Biology Club regularly volunteers with the National Butterfly Center and has a garden area to support the center, said Mehrzad Mahmoudian-Geller, the club’s adviser. The National Butterfly Center is located in Mission near the Rio Grande. She said she encourages people to learn more about the Valley’s native species through the National Butterfly Center.

After spending nearly the entirety of the last two years in a holding pattern, the National Butterfly Center is one step closer to learning if it can begin working in earnest on the lawsuit it filed against a cadre of individuals responsible for building a private border wall adjacent to their property.

Volunteers consisted of butterfly enthusiasts, locals and Troop 1927 from Sacred Heart Church in Edinburg who include some butterfly experts. “Butterfly counts in the rain don’t typically yield much data,” the executive director for the National Butterfly Center, Marianna Treviño Wright, said. The border wall being the reason a butterfly count hadn’t happened at the butterfly center since 2016 due to them combating the attempts of the structure being built through their land. “That’s why I believe it starts with education,” Logan Dovalina, the butterfly count coordinator and compiler, said. The National Butterfly Center is known for its unique environment that has recorded butterfly species being the first to ever be seen in the U.S., which is why it attracts many enthusiasts from all over the world.

Hidalgo County Sheriff’s Deputies responded to a report of skeletal remains found near Military Parkway and Inspiration Road on Thursday morning.

At the end of 2020, the Xerces Society published a study that said the Western Monarch Butterfly population reached an all-time low. The society says effects of climate change, most notably the historic string of wildfires along the Pacific Coast, have been the main force in the destruction of the Western Monarch Butterfly population. AdTreviño-Wright said the decline in the monarch butterfly species has not been as bad east of the Rocky Mountains, but there are still threats to the insects. But, she says there are ways you can help restore butterfly populations in your own backyard, such as planting native species. KSAT and the National Butterfly Center want to answer any questions you may have about butterflies in Texas.

click to enlarge Facebook / National Butterfly CenterA section of wall being erected near the National Butterfly Center in South Texas. The lawsuit alleges the administration violated the Fifth Amendment’s due process clause, which provides for equal protection under the law. “Ending the transfer of future funds doesn’t mean in itself that wall construction stops,” she said. Meanwhile, the Trump administration shows no signs of slowing progress on one of his most high-profile campaign promises. A U.S. Customs and Border Protection online tracker of border wall construction indicates a 69-mile stretch of new barrier is under construction in Webb County, and another 52-mile project is in the “pre-construction” phase.

click to enlarge Facebook / National Butterfly CenterPhotos taken by the National Butterfly Center show work constructing President Donald Trump's border wall. Tuesday's decision reverses a lower court's 2019 ruling that the center didn't have authority to push back at the government's use of its land for the project. The court's majority ruled that U.S. Customs and Border Protection used portions of the National Butterfly Center without authorization and damaged the property by felling trees, widening private roadways and installing sensors. "The due process claim survives because the government has not established that its statutory authority to enter private property to patrol the border licenses all of the alleged intrusions at the Center," U.S. While the ruling is a win for the center, judges rejected claims by the sanctuary that the feds had committed unreasonable property seizures or violated environmental protection policies.

click to enlarge Facebook / National Butterfly CenterConstruction of a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border wall has been widely decried as a human rights issue, and scientists also worry that its already had a negative impact on the environment and wildlife in the Rio Grande Valley.On Saturday, Mariana Trevino Wright — executive director of the National Butterfly Center in Mission, Texas — will discuss the negative effects the border wall has on its surrounding natural environment in a virtual gallery talk in partnership with San Antonio's Bihl Haus Arts.The free talk, titled "Butterflies vs. Border Wall: The Battle for Land, Water, Wildlife and More," is being held in conjunction with Bihl Haus' exhibition "Hot Pursuit: A Visual Commentary on Climate Change." The 3D online exhibition features works by artist Sabra Booth.Wright, an anti-border wall activist, has referred to the Trump administration's massive construction effort as a "habitat-destroying project. ""It is an assault, not only on the center, but the Constitution, the entire Lower Rio Grande Valley Wildlife Conservation Corridor and the health, economy, biological diversity and quality of life in borderlands communities," Wright said in a statement.Wright has been a part of conservation efforts for the Rio Grande River, a fresh water source for more than 6 million people. She's also helped expose pro-wall activists who were recently indicted for their roles in an alleged money-laundering scheme.The virtual gallery talk is free and open to the public through Zoom. Attendees will be sent a link for the talk after registering online Free, 2 p.m. Saturday, September 19, Zoom, bihlhausarts.org

Anzaldua said he predicts that if the Rio Grande has major floods, what’s left of the adjacent riverbank, possibly the wall itself, and even part of his property, will be swept downriver. “It’s just a matter of time.”Brian Kolfage, who raised $25 million in GoFundMe donations for the We Build the Wall project, said he’s “100% confident” that won’t happen. He said the riverbank has been grated at a gradual downward slope that will have special sod planted to help prevent erosion. He said that’s also why the new wall won’t have a metal plate at the top as an “anti-climb feature," because it could act as a sail in the wind, knocking down the structure. But as for the Anzaldua family’s concerns, Anzaldua said, “We don’t have the money to fight these people until they do the damage.”

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By challenging the barrier, Snipes is "promoting human trafficking and abuse of women and children," Kolfage claimed.WBTW plans to use private funds to construct a three-mile stretch of wall on private property in Hidalgo County. ""Our neighbors know we dont do things like that, and we do disagree but we usually disagree without being very mean and nasty," the priest added. From local politics and culture to national news that hits close to home, San Antonio Current has been keeping San Antonio informed for years. If quality journalism is important to you, please consider a donation to San Antonio Current. Every reader contribution is valuable and so appreciated, and goes directly to support our coverage of critical issues and neighborhood culture.