Researchers warn Trump border wall plans threaten rare desert oasis and species

Backup habitats readied for imperiled turtles, snails as second wall nears oasis

Quitobaquito Springs, a desert pond inside Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument in southwestern Arizona, is the only wild habitat on Earth for the Sonoyta pupfish, a small silvery fish with an upturned jaw, and the Quitobaquito springsnail, a mollusk the size of a chia seed. The spring is also the sole U.S. refuge for the Sonoyta mud turtle, a domed-shell reptile that has adapted to the scarce water sources of the Sonoran Desert.

In 2020, the Trump administration completed a 30-foot-tall border wall near the springs. During construction, the pond partially dried up after its lining cracked, causing the spring’s flow to fall to an all-time low. Now, the Department of Homeland Security has awarded a contract to Sundt Construction to build a second 30-foot wall just 90 to 150 feet north of the existing barrier, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection, and work could commence at any moment.

The southern edge of the pond sits only 190 feet from the international border with Sonora, meaning heavy machinery needed for the new wall would probably destroy part of it. A grove of mesquite trees even closer to the border, part of federally designated critical habitat for the mud turtle, would also likely be leveled.

“It could destroy the last remaining habitat for multiple imperiled species,” said Tara Harris, director of conservation and science at the Phoenix Zoo.

Michael Bogan, an aquatic ecologist at the University of Arizona who leads the recovery team for the Sonoyta mud turtle, said his group is weighing drastic options, including evacuating as many of the roughly 250 turtles from the pond as possible and housing them in artificial habitats. The only backup population for the turtle already exists at the Arizona-Sonoran Desert Museum, which keeps 20 turtles and has been asked to accept up to 50 more if needed, according to herpetology curator Tom Weaver, who said the museum has agreed. The Phoenix Zoo said it would also take in turtles and already maintains the only backup colony of Quitobaquito springsnails in two tanks.

“Our main concern is that there’s a place for them to go back to,” said Debra Colodner, director of conservation science at the museum.

The construction itself threatens the aquifer that feeds the springs. Contractors use enormous volumes of groundwater to mix cement for the wall’s base. CBP has estimated that a single mile of fencing built nearby in 2008 consumed 710,000 gallons of water, and current projects likely require more because the new walls are larger. The aquifer is believed to be supplied by extremely old groundwater and water from the Rio Sonoyta to the south. Bogan warned that groundwater pumping could deplete the aquifer, and if the water table drops below the point where water exits the spring, it will run dry. “That concern keeps me up,” he said.

The work is proceeding under waivers granted by the DHS secretary under the 2005 Real ID Act, which allow the government to bypass laws including the Endangered Species Act, the National Environmental Policy Act and the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act. Erick Meza, borderlands coordinator with the Sierra Club, said similar secondary fencing is already being built at about six other locations on the Arizona-Sonora border. “I’ve never seen something of this magnitude,” Meza said. “It’s unbelievable.”

Already, 34 miles of secondary barriers have been completed, mostly in Arizona, creating two adjacent 30-foot walls. An additional 390 miles of barriers are under construction and 155 miles have been awarded contracts, according to CBP.

The springs are sacred to the O’odham people, who have relied on them for generations. “It’s sickening,” said Wynona Larson Yazzie, an O’odham elder and community organizer, of the planned construction.

A CBP spokesperson, John Mennell, said in a statement that the agency was “working with the US Fish and Wildlife Service and National Park Service to avoid Quitobaquito Springs and minimize impacts to sensitive resources.” CBP declined to respond to follow-up questions. Sundt Construction and the National Park Service both referred inquiries to CBP.