AJO, Ariz. — Protected Sonoran Desert inside Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument is being bulldozed to make way for a second border wall, according to new photographs released by the Center for Biological Diversity.
The conservation group said the photographs, taken Aug. 16 and 17, show significant areas of desert cleared near Quitobaquito Springs for construction of a second wall that will run parallel to the existing 30-foot-tall border barrier.
The Center said one cleared area, about 3.4 miles east of Quitobaquito Springs, is being expanded into a large construction staging yard. Another area, about 2.5 miles east of the springs, shows a linear swath of desert that has been bulldozed for the new wall.
According to the group, the new wall is planned to run about 100 feet north of the existing border wall and will extend through the Quitobaquito area.
Environmental advocates say that construction could put additional pressure on an area that provides habitat for three endangered species: the Quitobaquito pupfish, Sonoyta mud turtle and Quitobaquito tryonia, a tiny springsnail found only at Quitobaquito Springs.
“This is the beginning of another destructive chapter for Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument and Quitobaquito Springs,” said Russ McSpadden, Southwest conservation advocate with the Center for Biological Diversity.
McSpadden accused contractors of using heavy equipment to clear protected Sonoran Desert landscapes for construction staging areas and areas surrounding the border wall.
The Center also raised concerns about public access to the area. Several roads along the southern border of Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument were closed to vehicle and pedestrian traffic effective July 31, including West Border Road between Lukeville and Quitobaquito Springs.
Because those areas are now inaccessible to the public, the Center said its staff hiked for miles through the desert to document the construction and newly cleared areas.
The organization said the closures could make it more difficult to document potential damage to cultural sites, endangered species habitat and other natural resources.
Quitobaquito Springs is also culturally significant to the Hia C-ed O’odham and Tohono O’odham. The Center said the area has been occupied by people for thousands of years and contains archaeological artifacts and other culturally significant resources.
The latest construction comes after another border-wall project in the nearby Cabeza Prieta National Wildlife Refuge damaged a roughly 1,000-year-old fish-shaped geoglyph known as the Las Playas Intaglio, according to the Center. The group said contractors scraped a roughly 50-foot-wide construction corridor through the cultural site in April.
The Tohono O’odham Nation has also challenged plans for two border walls across reservation lands. The Nation filed a lawsuit in June alleging that federal construction would trespass on tribal lands, damage sacred sites and threaten important ceremonies and religious practices.
The Center for Biological Diversity said the newly released photographs provide a rare look at the early stages of construction in areas that are otherwise difficult for the public to access.
(Photos courtesy Russ McSpadden, Center for Biological Diversity.)
