Fisher Sand and Gravel Wins $1.2 Billion Presidio County Border Wall Contract

The Department of Homeland Security awarded Fisher Sand & Gravel a $1.2 billion contract to build a vertical border barrier system stretching from Ruidosa in northwestern Presidio County to the top of Colorado Canyon in Big Bend Ranch State Park, a project estimated at roughly $17 million per mile and described as one of the largest border wall construction contracts in U.S. history.

The North Dakota firm, which operates through an Arizona-based subsidiary and falls under the Fisher Industries umbrella, has become one of the federal government's most active border wall contractors. Fisher Industries describes itself as vertically integrated, handling projects from design through completion across bridges, levees, roads and barrier systems. "Fisher Industries likes the tough jobs, we take the hardest first," CEO Tommy Fisher said in a promotional video. The Presidio County award follows other recent federal contracts: $574 million to construct a smart wall in California and roughly $300 million for a border wall section in Arizona.

The company's compliance record spans decades of scrutiny. By 2009, former co-owner Michael Fisher had been sentenced to three years in prison for tax fraud, and the company's former chief financial officer and comptroller pleaded guilty to conspiracy to defraud the United States. Fisher Sand & Gravel was ordered to pay $1.16 million in restitution, penalties and fines and required to implement anti-fraud measures. A Good Jobs First Violation Tracker documents 24 additional violations between 2008 and 2020 tied to environmental, water and air pollution and workplace safety regulations, with fines levied by state agencies in Arizona, New Mexico, North Dakota, Montana and Wyoming, as well as federal agencies including OSHA, the EPA and the EEOC. From 2008 to 2018, the company accumulated 169 citations in Maricopa County alone. Fisher Sand & Gravel is also currently pursuing a separate claim against the federal government over unpaid work on a project in the El Paso sector.

Environmental advocates have raised alarm over the project's path through Big Bend Ranch State Park, where federal waivers permitted construction to proceed without standard environmental protections. The terrain from Ruidosa to Colorado Canyon runs through some of the most remote and ecologically sensitive land in Texas, and the absence of standard review has drawn sharp criticism from conservation groups.

Opposition extends well beyond environmental circles. Thousands of Texans have called on Congress to halt the construction in west Texas, a coalition that includes all Texas border sheriffs, judges, ranchers, small business owners and Republican voters who support border security.

Fisher Industries, for its part, claims a record of industry recognition, including 12 consecutive years on Prairie Business Magazine's list of the 50 Best Places to Work and a ranking by the U.S. Geological Survey as the 17th largest sand and gravel producer among the top 100 companies in the country. The company has also cited its Sunland Park, New Mexico border wall, built on private property, as one of the most notable projects in its history.

Whether the contract proceeds without legal challenge through some of Texas's most iconic wilderness remains an open question as federal waivers, not environmental review, now govern the path forward.