Marianna Trevino Wright, executive director of the National Butterfly Center in Mission, Texas, will discuss the negative impact that the construction of the border wall is having on the environment and wildlife on the Rio Grande Valley during a virtual gallery talk, “Butterflies vs Border Wall: The Battle for Land, Water, Wildlife & More.” The talk is in conjunction with Bihl Haus Art’s exhibition "Hot Pursuit: A Visual Commentary on Climate Change" by Sabra Booth.

As executive director of the National Butterfly Center on the U.S.-Mexico border, Wright has become one of the most vocal anti-border wall activists in the country, calling the land-grabbing, habitat-destroying project an assault not only on the center but on the Constitution, the entire Lower Rio Grande Valley Wildlife Conservation Corridor and the health, economy, biological diversity and quality of life in borderlands communities.

Her fierce determination to protect access to a once-vibrant recreational waterway and the only source of freshwater for 6 million people, along with public and private greenspace, threatened and endangered species, and the integrity of a critical migration corridor were recognized by the Defenders of Wildlife who selected Wright to receive their 2019 Spirit of Defenders Award for Conservation Advocacy.