Tensions remain high near Lochiel as activists, who refer to themselves as “land protectors,” continue their protest against border-wall construction and Border Patrol agents continue to flex their muscle in the aftermath of Monday’s toppling of the last “grandmother” cottonwood and incursion on the activists’ encampment on private land.
Environment
Posted inColumns
Monsoon rarities
The above-average monsoon rainfall seemed to roll out the red carpet for a wide range of species, flourishing in various local habitats.
Posted inCommunity
No escaping the hopping menace
It’s been an especially prolific (and annoying) grasshopper season in eastern Santa Cruz County, and the only consolation is that cooler weather should tame the onslaught.
Posted inLocal News
Trump administration sued to stop Hermosa mine expansion in Patagonia Mountains
Two environmental organizations filed suit challenging approvals by U.S. Forest Service and Fish and Wildlife Service, alleging violations of Endangered Species Act.
Posted inEnvironment
Monitoring the air in eastern Santa Cruz County
The AirSMART Network is a community air-quality monitoring project, using relatively small, low-cost sensors capable of providing frequent, real-time measurements of particulate pollution and other atmospheric conditions.
Posted inLocal News
Sunflowers spread their cheer, and much more
Sunflowers are providers not only of roadside beauty. They also serve as pollinators and are an excellent source of seeds for birds and wildlife.
Posted inCommunity
Historian addresses changes, challenges to Santa Cruz River basin
Mauro Trejo. (Photo by Carrie White) Seventh generation Arizonan Mauro Trejo spoke at a meeting of the Patagonia Museum board on Saturday about the history of the Santa Cruz River. A lifeline for the Tucson Basin for millennia and an integral part of Southern Arizona’s flourishing history, the Santa Cruz River has faced a multitude of […]
Posted inLocal News
Town, county progressing on Early Action projects related to CPBA
As the deadline for community input on the Community Protections and Benefits Agreement (CPBA) approaches on Aug. 31, the signatories have continued making progress on the 16 items that were funded through the Early Actions Community Investment Funding Agreement that was signed in early March.
Posted inLocal News
Observations from the border: Lochiel protest camp expands as tree-sit continues
What began as a sparse, symbolic protest to save historic cottonwood trees from the destructive machinery of border-wall construction has blossomed into something much grander. A growing camp of activists have transformed the movement from symbolic to tangible – with a demarcated stopping point protecting the last remaining “grandmother” cottonwood in the path of machinery, and a show of binational solidarity with a corresponding tree-sit south of the border.
Posted inBreaking News
Border wall update: Lochiel tree sit becomes binational
The San Rafael border wall protest that began three weeks ago has done binational with a tree-sitter on the Mexican side joining tree-sitters north of the border.