A growing number of Austin residents are raising eyebrows over new reporting connecting Roy Seiders, co-founder of the beloved Austin-based cooler brand Yeti, to a private ranch that is reportedly facilitating border wall construction near Big Bend National Park. For a city that prides itself on environmental stewardship and progressive values, the news hits close to home.
Big Bend's rugged terrain and extraordinary biodiversity have long made it one of Texas's most treasured wild places. Conservation groups warn that wall construction through the area would fragment critical wildlife corridors, damage irreplaceable desert ecosystems, and threaten species that migrate across the U.S.-Mexico boundary. The Rio Grande itself could face disruption, and Indigenous communities with deep historical ties to the land stand to lose sacred cultural landscapes.
Where stakeholders stand: Environmental advocates and border-community organizations are sounding alarms, arguing that private landowner cooperation enables construction that federal environmental review processes might otherwise slow or halt. Supporters of stricter border enforcement counter that landowners have a legal right to cooperate with federal authorities and that security concerns outweigh ecological ones. Yeti, as a brand, has not issued a public statement, leaving consumers and investors in the dark about whether the company endorses—or even has knowledge of—its co-founder's private land decisions.
For Austin residents who made Yeti a household name and helped turn it into a billion-dollar brand, this raises a fair question: does your purchase reflect your values? Consumer pressure has shifted corporate behavior before, and Austinites are no strangers to organizing around accountability.
What you can do right now:
First, contact Yeti directly at info@yeti.com and ask the company to clarify its position on border wall construction and environmental protection. Second, support organizations like the Big Bend Conservation Alliance and the Borderlands Research Institute that are documenting the ecological impact on the ground. Third, reach out to your Austin City Council member and encourage the city to formally oppose construction activity that threatens designated wilderness and national park buffer zones. Austin's voice carries weight—use it.
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