Yeti Co-Founder Tied to Big Bend Ranch Aiding Border Wall Construction

Yeti co-founder Ryan Seiders is among the owners of a West Texas ranch that is cooperating with construction efforts tied to the Trump administration’s planned border wall in the Big Bend region, according to public records obtained by Marfa Public Radio.
The Moody Bennett Ranch, which stretches across Presidio, Jeff Davis and Hudspeth counties, lies in the path of the proposed border wall. The plan to build a 30-foot-high steel wall along the river outside Big Bend National Park is drawing ire from locals and environmental advocates nationwide who argue the plan poses a risk to the region's wildlife, dark skies and tourism economy.
Despite the pushback, local property owners have already granted U.S. Customs and Border Protection and its contractors permission to build the wall. Presidio County Commissioner Deirdre Hisler said that Moody Bennett Ranch’s owners are cooperating with contractor Barnard Construction on multiple aspects of the project, including worker housing and activities related to wall construction. Heavy equipment and a “mud pit” are already present on the property and surveying work for construction has begun.
A spokesperson for CBP told Marfa Public Radio the agency obtained “voluntary Rights of Entry for Construction (ROE-C) with some landowners which allows CBP immediate access to private property to complete surveys, land valuation/appraisals, and to begin construction activities.” Panel installation on the border wall is scheduled to begin in late summer or early fall.
Seiders and his brother, Roy, co-founded Yeti in 2006. They sold their two-thirds controlling interest in the company to private equity firm Cortec in 2012 but remain public faces of the brand. The billion-dollar company, headquartered in Austin, touts a commitment to environmental stewardship on its website. Yeti’s drinkware lines commemorate the national park.