UPDATE: July 29, 2026
The fight to preserve ancient cottonwood trees in the San Rafael Valley climbed to new heights Wednesday as protesters scaled a tree and staged a tree sit.
The protesters took action after contractors for the Trump administration’s double border wall on Monday toppled three neighboring Fremont cottonwoods estimated to be between 200 and 250 years old.
“Destroying these ancient cottonwoods is a death sentence for an entire ecosystem,” said Russ McSpadden, Southwest conservation advocate at the Center for Biological Diversity in a news release. “These magnificent cottonwoods survived centuries, nourishing wildlife through floods and drought, only to be bulldozed for the Trump administration’s disastrous border wall. The San Rafael Valley is one of the most biologically rich landscapes in North America. It’s both a refuge and crucial corridor for jaguars, ocelots, black bears, pronghorn and hundreds of bird species.”
The news release said the border wall construction in the San Rafael Valley also threatens prehistoric archeological sites of cultural importance to indigenous tribes.
McSpadden’s organization shared drone footage of Fisher Industries work crews using heavy equipment to knock down one of the neighboring trees.
Historic cottonwood trees along the U.S.-Mexico border near Lochiel are toppled on Monday to make way for a double border wall. (Photos by Erick Meza, Sierra Club) 
Historic cottonwood trees along the U.S.-Mexico border near Lochiel are toppled on Monday to make way for a double border wall. (Photos by Erick Meza, Sierra Club) 
Historic cottonwood trees along the U.S.-Mexico border near Lochiel are toppled on Monday to make way for a double border wall. (Photos by Erick Meza, Sierra Club) 
Historic cottonwood trees along the U.S.-Mexico border near Lochiel are toppled on Monday to make way for a double border wall. (Photos by Erick Meza, Sierra Club) 
Posters from binational events were added to the same cottonwood “lado” (on the other side). (Photo by Robert Gay) 
Before the arrival of construction equipment, campers ceremonially wrapped cottonwoods, known by indigenous tradition as “grandmothers,” with protective prayer flags and ribbons. On July 22, a grandmother communes with a grandmother. (Photo Robert Gay) 
Since Fisher Sand and Gravel’s beginning in the San Rafael Valley in September 2025, the construction work has generally moved west across the San Rafael Valley. Approaching Lochiel, the second wall had begun by Jully 25, with Santa Cruz River’s band of trees to the rear. (Drone photo John Darwin Kurc) 
Further east, construction has paused at the steep climb to Montezuma Pass. At the ridge in the background, the first mile of Arizona Trail remains closed indefinitely. (Photo Russ McSpadden) 
Moving west from Lochiel, the clearing of the 60-foot strip deeded to the U.S. Government in 1907 as the “Roosevelt Reservation” has proceeded along the Coronado National Forest toward the rocky south ridge of the Patagonia Mountains. (Drone photo by Jeff Wirth) 
Looking eastward from Kino Springs at the double wall. (Courtesy of Paul Ingram and the Tucson Sentinel)
The Center for Biological Diversity said federal officials promised but did not conduct preconstruction surveys of the migratory area during nesting season.
The Center on Wednesday sent a letter to the Department of HomelandSecurity and U.S. Customs and Border Protection, calling for an immediate halt to construction in the area near the former border-crossing town of Lochiel, urging the agencies to conduct comprehensive biological and cultural resource surveys to assess theecological and cultural resources at risk.