Trump’s dumb border wall
Environmental activists are protesting the construction of a border wall extension in Arizona that threatens a 200-year-old cottonwood tree. The project continues despite low border crossing numbers, fueled by recent federal funding and environmental law waivers.
Why it matters
The story illustrates the ongoing conflict between federal infrastructure projects, environmental conservation, and immigration policy.
About 22 miles south of the former mining town of Patagonia, Arizona, down a winding, unpaved mountain road that passes cows grazing on open range, stands a cottonwood tree believed to be at least 200 years old. The “grandmother” tree, as some locals call it, is imperiled and already showing signs of stress, almost as if it knows its fate. The leaves are yellowing prematurely, falling to the ground at the height of summer. On July 27th, a construction crew felled three neighboring trees to build an extension of President Donald Trump’s wall along the US-Mexico border.
An activist climbed up the last tree standing two days later and ever since, someone has sat on a platform hoisted onto the tree’s branches. They say they’ll sit there as long as it takes, because as long as someone is in the tree, it can’t be cut down.
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