The Trump administration delivered a blunt message to angry West Texas landowners at a meeting last week: Work with us on the border wall, or we'll build it anyway.

Why it matters: The administration's pressure to show progress on border wall mileage is leading to rushed work that's infuriating local residents, ranchers and the tourism industry.

What they're saying: Local residents tell Axios they've heard the goal is to finish construction as soon as December 2027.

• Since the start of the year, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has been mailing out packages — sometimes with inaccurate survey lines or owner information — offering people between $1,000 and $5,000 for initial access, according to landowners who have received these packets.
• The packets list three options for landowners: all of them end up with the government getting the land for construction through degrees of cooperation or eminent domain.

Zoom in: The Trump administration has done as much as possible to fast-track the construction process in the Big Bend sector, home to national and state parks of the same name.

• Former Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem signed 28 environmental and cultural preservation waivers to speed up the project, citing Trump's executive order that there's an invasion at the southern border.
• Construction companies are setting up camps and renting out local RV parks to house workers. Their goal is to start work in June.

The latest: Last Wednesday, an updated CBP "Smart Wall Map" indicated physical barriers were planned for Big Bend National Park and Big Bend Ranch State Park. That's a reversal from earlier, when CBP had backed away from having a wall in the parks after bipartisan pushback.

• Plans in the park remain unclear. The map has been removed from the website.

The other side: Spokespeople for Gov. Greg Abbott and CBP did not respond to requests for information by deadline.

• The Army Corps of Engineers referred Axios to CBP.

What's next: The Sierra Club Lone Star Chapter is hosting an online meeting Wednesday to discuss border wall construction in the Big Bend area.

The Trump administration's "preferred and ideal route" is for landowners to sign a "Right of Entry for Construction" form, giving away total property access for surveys and construction for a negotiated price "once construction is completed," per a letter from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to landowners.

State of play: The information packets sent to landowners come with a blank W-9 that can be filled out for easy payment.

What they're saying: "$5,000 is a lot of money around here," says Jim Stephens, who owns two plots that could be impacted in Ruidosa, Texas.

• But it's not enough to get him to sign away any access rights, Stephens says.
• Stephens hasn't received any paperwork from the Army Corps of Engineers, but a contractor called to ask for staging access. The answer was: "Hell no!"
• "I've seen how government staging areas look after they leave," he adds.

Zoom in: Another Army Corps of Engineers officer told Presidio ranch owner Yolanda Alvarado that the border wall on her property could potentially have a gate. And she would have the key.

• The wall would leave Alvarado's uncle's home on the Mexican side of the wall and the family cemetery on the American side with their cattle cut off from the river banks.
• "You're putting my life in danger," Alvarado says of the gate-and-key proposal, saying she thought she would become a target of the cartels if that was their solution.

Camp Mystic, where 27 girls died in the Hill Country flooding last July, could be denied a license to reopen this summer. State health officials found it didn't meet Texas safety requirements. (NYT)

🚀 Joint Base San Antonio is a candidate to receive a new Space Force unit focused on cyber warfare. A decision is expected later this year. (Express-News 🔑)

🏙️ The conversion of the Tower Life Building into apartments has been delayed until next year. (SA Business Journal 🔑)

🦟 Quote du jour

"It only takes about seven to 10 days before you start to see these pools of water with mosquito eggs start to erupt with mosquitoes. So those mosquito counts are going to go up pretty soon."

Sometimes in spring, baby birds make their way out of the nest before they're ready — either from a moment of overconfidence or wind from a storm.

• Here's what to do when a fallen creature tugs at your heartstrings.

Check for feathers: If the baby's still bald, you can pick it up and place it in its nest.

If it has feathers: Leave it alone unless it's in immediate danger from, say, another animal.

Threat level: Don't take a bird home, and don't feed a baby bird.

• Don't move nests that have birds or eggs in them.

The city of San Antonio recommends contacting Wildlife Rescue & Rehabilitation when you find a wild animal that needs help.

• The nonprofit has a 24-7 hotline at 830-336-2725.

💌 Tell us: Have you encountered a solo baby bird or other animal in San Antonio? What was your experience like?

• Hit reply.