The DOI U.S.-Mexico Border Field Coordinating Committee (FCC) addresses border natural and cultural resources issues by facilitating communication and coordination among DOI bureaus and consultation with Mexican counterparts.

Current Events

Border Region Highlights

Geospatial and Mapping
Data Update

Good Neighbor Environmental Board: June 18-19, Calexico, CA

Arizona-Mexico Commission: June 20-21, Phoenix, AZ

The Wildlife Society -NM Chapter; Border Wildlife Issues Workshop: July 7-12, Las Cruces, NM

Good Neighbor Environmental Board: September 24-25, El Paso, TX

from the March 2008 FCC Newsletter
Binational Amphibian and Reptile Monitoring and Conservation in the Frontera of Sonora, Mexico

United States/Mexico Sister Parks Conference Held at Grand Canyon

On Monday, February 25, 2008, participants gathered to kick off Shared Heritage, Shared Stewardship: Connecting Sister parks in the U.S. and Mexico - a 3 1/2 day US/Mexico sister Parks conference held at Grand Canyon National Park. The conference, jointly organized by the National Park Service and Mexico's Comisión Nacional de Áreas Naturales Protegidas (CONANP), brought together representatives from ten US park units, seven Mexican protected areas, regional and central offices of CONANP and NPS, four U.S. federal agencies, and nine non-governmental agencies from both sides of the border.

Featured Issue

Buenos Aires National Wildlife Refuge: Partnership with the Border Patrol

An effective working relationship with the U.S. Border Patrol allows Buenos Aires National Wildlife Refuge in southern Arizona to manage public lands and our wildlife legacy in the face of daunting challenges. Due to its border location, however, the Refuge faces immense obstacles in fulfilling that mission. These problems are surmountable, thanks to the valuable cooperation between the U. S. Border Patrol and the Refuge. Through a Memorandum of Understanding, the two agencies work together to achieve mutual goals. More....

U.S. - Mexico Border Environmental Health Initiative  The USGS is creating a bi-national database for the U.S.-Mexico border region that integrates mapping, demographic, water and biological contaminants, public health, and geologic data for both sides of the border.

Update:  Annex between the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and the Mexican Institute of Geography, Census, and Statistics (INEGI) allows the public release of binational harmonized geospatial datasets along the U.S.-Mexico border by way of the Internet under the umbrella of the USGS U.S.-Mexico Border Environmental Health Initiative (BEHI).More....

The  Initiative has a new map of the U.S. Federal lands and Mexican protected areas in the  the border region.

Geospatial and environmental scientific datasets are available to download from both U.S. and Mexican governmental agencies and include data on cities, colonias, binational geology, land use and land cover, and aquifers, among others. These databases are invaluable tools for monitoring the environmental response to anthropogenic and climate variability changes on the landscape.