Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument in Arizona likely to face irreversible damage from border wall construction/NPS file
Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument is home to a thriving community of plants and animals. In fact, this national monument is also an International Biosphere Reserve, recognized for its conservation of the unique resources representing a pristine example of an intact Sonoran Desert ecosystem. But the health and continued protection of this irreplaceable ecosystem is at risk from a man-made intrusion; the border wall.
On May 16, 2019, the U.S. Customs and Border Protection announced that approximately 63 miles of existing border barriers would be upgraded with vehicle and pedestrian barriers in the form of a bollard wall. The proposed design of the new bollard wall includes 18- to 30-foot, concrete-filled steel bollards that are approximately 6 inches x 6 inches in diameter. The proposed project also includes improvement or construction of roads, the installation of lighting and the installation of other detection technology. And the proposed project would impact numerous national public lands, including Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument.
This is an incredibly invasive and destructive project, and CBP has not indicated publicly what level of environmental analysis it would prepare for its border wall proposal. In most instances, the requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act have been waived in the interest of expediting wall construction. This means that significant desert vegetation and wildlife habitat could be destroyed without taking the time to truly study the impacts and ramifications. And we know it’s happening already, as you can see in this video of a bulldozer knocking over a decades-old Saguaro.
The existing barrier at Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument and Coronado National Monument was constructed between 2004–2006. According to the NPS documents for that project, the barrier was to be “wildlife friendly” and include mitigation measures to protect threatened and endangered species. With the new border wall, there will be little, if any, provisions to allow wildlife to access water and habitat.
In addition, the effectiveness of the new wall is also in question. There have been numerous instances where the wall has been constructed, yet illegal border crossing still occurs. We should not risk our irreplaceable cultural and natural resources until the effectiveness of the existing wall, as well as the new proposed wall, have been disclosed to the public and thoroughly analyzed by federal, state and tribal officials.
The damage being done to Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument by the construction of this border wall will last for centuries; in fact, it may very well be irreversible. If the effectiveness of the existing barrier and its impacts have not been disclosed to the public, how do we know that a new border wall is necessary? What we do know is that a wall will threaten the delicate balance of a critical ecosystem. So is building a wall that may not be successful worth impacting national parks and harming threatened and endangered wildlife? It is not.
Rick Smith served the National Park Service for decades, retiring as the Associate Regional Director for Resources Management. Rick continues to stay involved in NPS issues and is an active member of the Coalition to Protect America’s National Parks. He and his wife, Kathy, live in Tucson, AZ.
Comments
Will the next Administration remove this obscene wall? I sure hope so.
Strictly opinion. Sure the immediate area of construction will be changed, but the other thousands of acres which make up the park will remain the same. The wash's full of abandoned trash, empty water jugs, and concrete riprap to stop vehicles, will still be there for visitors to enjoy.
Exactly Jerry. The wall will impact less than a 10th of a percent of the Park.
To Jerry and ecbuck, have you guys ever been there even once? The wall will impact the entire southern boundary of the park, including the whole southern half of the Puerto Blanco Scenic Drive, where it will be an ugly prison-like eyesore confronting the visitor the entire way to the cutoff to Senita Basin and on to Quitobaquito Springs. Thats about a quarter of visitor "frontcountry" destinations in the entire park. It will also, from what I can tell, be visible - especially at night due to the planned floodlighting - from the park's main campground, where most overnight visitors spend much of their time. This will impact the natural-dark nighttime experience for many. As for washes full of trash and such: since the current vehicle barrier went in (about 15 years ago, as described in this article), the park has gotten all of that under control with significant restoration efforts. Pictures of trash-filled gullies which wall boosters frequently swap amongst themselves are inevitably ~10 years old or more. Got anything recent to show instead?
And that's just the scenic impacts on visitors to this otherwise-beautiful park (the best in the Sonoran Desert, in my opinion). There will also be major impacts on animal migration and water access, as well as hydrology impacts during the inevitable flash-floods which will backup against the wall, fell cactus the park is meant to protect, and washout the road (until the wall falls over, at least). Speaking of felled cactus, the nearly-freeway-sized patrol corridor being bulldozed adjacent to the wall has already toppled many, with many more to come - these are saguaros and organ pipes, cactus otherwise illegal to cut in Arizona, yet here being removed with impunity. And speaking of hydrology impacts, there are also the uncertain effects which all the groundwater pumping (for dust suppression and concrete mixing onsite) will have on Quitobaquito Springs - a desert oasis immediately adjacent to wall. All in all, its a disaster. But of course Trump couldn't care less, if he's even heard of it.
Yes, Scott. I have been there. Hiked many of the trails just two years ago. Black water jugs, clothing, and plastic bags scattered across the landscape. Concrete highway lane dividers dumped in dry washs by border patrol to prevent vehicles from being driven down them. Yes, there's beauty in Organ Pipe, but it's definitely not pristine. I've really no opinion on the fence. But to say that it will damage the park anymore than many other things is opinion.
"So is building a wall that may not be successful worth impacting national parks and harming threatened and endangered wildlife?" What threatened and endangered wildlife is going to be irreversibly harmed exactly? It would be nice of the author gave specifics. And what does the author propose instead to stop the illegal entry into our country in this area? We have been talking about the illegal immigration problem in this country for decades and nothing has happened because we have had too many politicians on both sides that lacked the backbone or will to do anything about it. Now we have at least one. Is it the best solution? Maybe not but at least he is making an attempt. Had our elected officials done their job and provided a better alternative perhaps this wall wouldn't be built. So if you want to be upset, direct your anger towards our outdated immigration policies, lack of enforcement of existing laws and lazy or inept elected officials AND all of those groups that have worked to stop any efforts.
Deflection of blame onto the other guy... always deflection and blaming others... and it's usually easy to single out the other guy; just find somebody with a darker complexion. It's always their fault. If they had just shown the initiative to connive and steal as much as us white folks did from the very beginning, they would be inheriting unearned income and stolen property of their own and we wouldn't be dealing with this problem. Gol dang their hide!
Wild: Sonoran pronghorn, for one.
https://www.nationalparkstraveler.org/2020/01/protecting-sonoran-pronghorn-extinction