SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
Organ Pipe National Monument, Arizona. (Photo: Shutterstock)
Trump's Border Wall Is an Ecologist's Nightmare
Blowing up mountains, bulldozing sacred sites, guzzling groundwater—the wall is turning border ecosystems into a grim dystopia.
Feb 10, 2020
I have spent the past seven years studying the rich biological communities of Arizona's Sonoran Desert.
Few places there are more captivating than the Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument. The monument is home to breathtaking cacti that have stood for over a century, as well as several endangered animal species. It's also the rightful, sacred land of the Indigenous O'odham Nation.
This irreversible destruction is an atrocity for our communities and our planet.
Despite the awe I have felt there in the past, I haven't visited Organ Pipe recently. It's just too heartbreaking.
Why? Because right now, President Trump's border wall is turning the landscape into an ecological dystopia.
The Department of Homeland Security is leveling this precious habitat with absolutely no regard for the delicacy of this place's unique cultural and ecological resources, ravaging one of the most iconic sites in the Western hemisphere. They're even blowing up mountains like Monument Hill, an O'odham sacred site, to make way for the wall.
This irreversible destruction is an atrocity for our communities and our planet.
Wall construction is shaping up to be an all-out assault on all of Organ Pipe's resources. Over the last few months, the Trump administration has been draining millions of gallons of groundwater to mix the wall's concrete.
Because groundwater in our region often takes tens of thousands of years to recharge and is connected to springs in the region, this extraction is bringing about the death of Quitobaquito Springs, which is the only home of the Quitobaquito pupfish and sustains wildlife that would not otherwise be able to exist in this desert landscape.
Located on the traditional land of the Hia-Ced and Tohono O'odham Nations, Quitobaquito is surrounded by a host of sacred sites and archaeological resources worthy of protection. Scarce resources like water -- and the communities and natural systems that depend on them -- as well as cultural sites dating back centuries may never be replaced.
The Tohono O'odham Nation penned a powerful letter to the U.S. Border Patrol calling for a halt to the destruction, stressing the many tragedies occurring on their sacred lands: bulldozers ripping up their ancestors' burial sites, their water resources being stolen, and the agency consistently ignoring their pleas for consultation.
The borderlands are rapidly turning into a hyper-militarized zone. As Arizona Rep. Raul Grijalva put it so accurately and tragically, "to DHS, nothing is sacred."
One of the last times I visited Organ Pipe, I was stopped for "suspicious behavior." I had simply pulled over my car to photograph and take notes of plant species. These are public lands that the Trump administration has taken over -- all for a cruel and unpopular agenda -- and yet they treat members of the public with deep suspicion and discrimination.
Even worse, the administration can waive all laws that protect our environment and health to wreak this disaster due to the READ ID Act -- an overshot of authority DHS was given to strip protections like the National Environmental Policy, Endangered Species, and Clean Water Acts when building the wall.
Already, 41 laws have already been waived. These include nearly every act put in place to protect air, water, wilderness areas, and endangered species, as well as historic, archaeological, and human burial sites.
No wall is worth this damage.
The irreversible extraction of groundwater, the destruction of what is rightfully O'odham land, the disruption of animal migrations, and the human rights implications represent a grave injustice. We cannot stand for the militarization and destruction happening at places like Organ Pipe and across the border states.
The courts must stop the Trump administration from any further destruction. These places -- and the life they sustain -- are irreplaceable.
We are at a crossroads
This country and this world are at a monumental crossroads. US voters have an opportunity to beat back the forces of fascism and confront the billionaires who are rigging the economy, our media system, and our democracy, making it increasingly impossible for ordinary people to get by. We’re not just talking about the election. We’re talking about what must be done once these fascist elements are vanquished from power. We need a bolder set of solutions than what either major party has so far been willing to offer and a working-class movement ready to fight like hell for it. Trump didn't emerge from nowhere. The conditions that fueled MAGA authoritarianism were created by decades of radical neoliberal economic policies and a corrupt political system dominated by corporate interests. They slashed taxes on the super-rich, promising that the benefits would trickle down. They said giveaways to the corporate titans would make life more affordable for the rest of us. It was all bullshit. And when a bitter, betrayed populace searches for someone to blame, right-wing demagogues have little trouble finding scapegoats. People know when they're being lied to, but you won't hear any of this from the corporate media. Only independent journalism—powered and funded by people who believe in building a better world—can deliver truly trustworthy daily news. If you share our vision, please contribute whatever you can to sustain our work. |
This column was distributed by OtherWords.
Kelsey Yule
Kelsey Yule is a PhD ecologist and evolutionary biologist and volunteer with the Sierra Club's borderlands campaign. This op-ed was distributed by OtherWords.org.
I have spent the past seven years studying the rich biological communities of Arizona's Sonoran Desert.
Few places there are more captivating than the Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument. The monument is home to breathtaking cacti that have stood for over a century, as well as several endangered animal species. It's also the rightful, sacred land of the Indigenous O'odham Nation.
This irreversible destruction is an atrocity for our communities and our planet.
Despite the awe I have felt there in the past, I haven't visited Organ Pipe recently. It's just too heartbreaking.
Why? Because right now, President Trump's border wall is turning the landscape into an ecological dystopia.
The Department of Homeland Security is leveling this precious habitat with absolutely no regard for the delicacy of this place's unique cultural and ecological resources, ravaging one of the most iconic sites in the Western hemisphere. They're even blowing up mountains like Monument Hill, an O'odham sacred site, to make way for the wall.
This irreversible destruction is an atrocity for our communities and our planet.
Wall construction is shaping up to be an all-out assault on all of Organ Pipe's resources. Over the last few months, the Trump administration has been draining millions of gallons of groundwater to mix the wall's concrete.
Because groundwater in our region often takes tens of thousands of years to recharge and is connected to springs in the region, this extraction is bringing about the death of Quitobaquito Springs, which is the only home of the Quitobaquito pupfish and sustains wildlife that would not otherwise be able to exist in this desert landscape.
Located on the traditional land of the Hia-Ced and Tohono O'odham Nations, Quitobaquito is surrounded by a host of sacred sites and archaeological resources worthy of protection. Scarce resources like water -- and the communities and natural systems that depend on them -- as well as cultural sites dating back centuries may never be replaced.
The Tohono O'odham Nation penned a powerful letter to the U.S. Border Patrol calling for a halt to the destruction, stressing the many tragedies occurring on their sacred lands: bulldozers ripping up their ancestors' burial sites, their water resources being stolen, and the agency consistently ignoring their pleas for consultation.
The borderlands are rapidly turning into a hyper-militarized zone. As Arizona Rep. Raul Grijalva put it so accurately and tragically, "to DHS, nothing is sacred."
One of the last times I visited Organ Pipe, I was stopped for "suspicious behavior." I had simply pulled over my car to photograph and take notes of plant species. These are public lands that the Trump administration has taken over -- all for a cruel and unpopular agenda -- and yet they treat members of the public with deep suspicion and discrimination.
Even worse, the administration can waive all laws that protect our environment and health to wreak this disaster due to the READ ID Act -- an overshot of authority DHS was given to strip protections like the National Environmental Policy, Endangered Species, and Clean Water Acts when building the wall.
Already, 41 laws have already been waived. These include nearly every act put in place to protect air, water, wilderness areas, and endangered species, as well as historic, archaeological, and human burial sites.
No wall is worth this damage.
The irreversible extraction of groundwater, the destruction of what is rightfully O'odham land, the disruption of animal migrations, and the human rights implications represent a grave injustice. We cannot stand for the militarization and destruction happening at places like Organ Pipe and across the border states.
The courts must stop the Trump administration from any further destruction. These places -- and the life they sustain -- are irreplaceable.
Kelsey Yule
Kelsey Yule is a PhD ecologist and evolutionary biologist and volunteer with the Sierra Club's borderlands campaign. This op-ed was distributed by OtherWords.org.
I have spent the past seven years studying the rich biological communities of Arizona's Sonoran Desert.
Few places there are more captivating than the Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument. The monument is home to breathtaking cacti that have stood for over a century, as well as several endangered animal species. It's also the rightful, sacred land of the Indigenous O'odham Nation.
This irreversible destruction is an atrocity for our communities and our planet.
Despite the awe I have felt there in the past, I haven't visited Organ Pipe recently. It's just too heartbreaking.
Why? Because right now, President Trump's border wall is turning the landscape into an ecological dystopia.
The Department of Homeland Security is leveling this precious habitat with absolutely no regard for the delicacy of this place's unique cultural and ecological resources, ravaging one of the most iconic sites in the Western hemisphere. They're even blowing up mountains like Monument Hill, an O'odham sacred site, to make way for the wall.
This irreversible destruction is an atrocity for our communities and our planet.
Wall construction is shaping up to be an all-out assault on all of Organ Pipe's resources. Over the last few months, the Trump administration has been draining millions of gallons of groundwater to mix the wall's concrete.
Because groundwater in our region often takes tens of thousands of years to recharge and is connected to springs in the region, this extraction is bringing about the death of Quitobaquito Springs, which is the only home of the Quitobaquito pupfish and sustains wildlife that would not otherwise be able to exist in this desert landscape.
Located on the traditional land of the Hia-Ced and Tohono O'odham Nations, Quitobaquito is surrounded by a host of sacred sites and archaeological resources worthy of protection. Scarce resources like water -- and the communities and natural systems that depend on them -- as well as cultural sites dating back centuries may never be replaced.
The Tohono O'odham Nation penned a powerful letter to the U.S. Border Patrol calling for a halt to the destruction, stressing the many tragedies occurring on their sacred lands: bulldozers ripping up their ancestors' burial sites, their water resources being stolen, and the agency consistently ignoring their pleas for consultation.
The borderlands are rapidly turning into a hyper-militarized zone. As Arizona Rep. Raul Grijalva put it so accurately and tragically, "to DHS, nothing is sacred."
One of the last times I visited Organ Pipe, I was stopped for "suspicious behavior." I had simply pulled over my car to photograph and take notes of plant species. These are public lands that the Trump administration has taken over -- all for a cruel and unpopular agenda -- and yet they treat members of the public with deep suspicion and discrimination.
Even worse, the administration can waive all laws that protect our environment and health to wreak this disaster due to the READ ID Act -- an overshot of authority DHS was given to strip protections like the National Environmental Policy, Endangered Species, and Clean Water Acts when building the wall.
Already, 41 laws have already been waived. These include nearly every act put in place to protect air, water, wilderness areas, and endangered species, as well as historic, archaeological, and human burial sites.
No wall is worth this damage.
The irreversible extraction of groundwater, the destruction of what is rightfully O'odham land, the disruption of animal migrations, and the human rights implications represent a grave injustice. We cannot stand for the militarization and destruction happening at places like Organ Pipe and across the border states.
The courts must stop the Trump administration from any further destruction. These places -- and the life they sustain -- are irreplaceable.
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.
To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good.
News & Opinion
Trending
Common Dreams, Inc. Founded 1997. Registered 501(c3) Non-Profit
Privacy Policy