{"id":16961,"date":"2026-07-31T09:13:30","date_gmt":"2026-07-31T01:13:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tingchao.xyz\/?p=16961"},"modified":"2026-07-31T09:13:35","modified_gmt":"2026-07-31T01:13:35","slug":"activists-climb-rare-arizona-cottonwood-to-shield-it-from-trump-border-wall-construction","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tingchao.xyz\/?p=16961","title":{"rendered":"Activists climb rare Arizona cottonwood to shield it from Trump border wall construction"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image alignwide size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"695\" height=\"447\" src=\"https:\/\/tingchao.xyz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/4-4.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-16962\" srcset=\"https:\/\/tingchao.xyz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/4-4.png 695w, https:\/\/tingchao.xyz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/4-4-300x193.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 695px) 100vw, 695px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Activists are protesting the construction pathway for President Trump\u2019s border wall in Arizona because it would require the removal of an ancient cottonwood tree.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A demonstrator was arrested on Wednesday for trespassing after protesting plans that would include chopping down a Fremont cottonwood tree, estimated to be 200 to 250 years old.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Three similar trees were cut down earlier this week.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cDestroying these ancient cottonwoods is a death sentence for an entire ecosystem,\u201d Russ McSpadden, Southwest conservation advocate at the Center for Biological Diversity, said in a statement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThese magnificent cottonwoods survived centuries, nourishing wildlife through floods and drought, only to be bulldozed for the Trump administration\u2019s disastrous border wall. The San Rafael Valley is one of the most biologically rich landscapes in North America,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The tree\u2019s deep roots are used to tap underground water tables, as it can consume up to 200 gallons of water per day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Their heavy water use is a natural indicator to animals, attracting jaguars, ocelots, black bears, pronghorn and hundreds of bird species.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Jaguars are considered \u201cnear threatened\u201d in the IUCN Red List and is seen sparingly in Arizona and Mexico.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">McSpadden urged the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to complete comprehensive biological and cultural resource surveys to identify sensitive resources and avoid further destruction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThe ancient cottonwoods of Lochiel cannot be replaced once they are destroyed,\u201d McSpadden wrote in his letter to Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cDHS and CBP have an opportunity and an obligation to prevent further harm to this irreplaceable borderlands landscape. We urge you to immediately suspend construction activities and take action to protect the ecological and cultural resources of the San Rafael Valley,\u201d he added on behalf of the Center for Biological Diversity.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Activists are protesting the construction pathway for President Trump\u2019s border wall in Arizona because it would require the removal of an ancient cottonwood tree. A demonstrator was arrested on Wednesday for trespassing after protesting plans that would include chopping down a Fremont cottonwood tree, estimated to be 200 to 250 years old. Three similar trees [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":16962,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[2280,1766,4293],"class_list":["post-16961","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-international","tag-arizona","tag-border","tag-cottonwood"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v19.0 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Activists climb rare Arizona cottonwood to shield it from Trump border wall construction - LISTEN WORLD<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/tingchao.xyz\/?p=16961\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Activists climb rare Arizona cottonwood to shield it from Trump border wall construction - LISTEN WORLD\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Activists are protesting the construction pathway for President Trump\u2019s border wall in Arizona because it would require the removal of an ancient cottonwood tree. A demonstrator was arrested on Wednesday for trespassing after protesting plans that would include chopping down a Fremont cottonwood tree, estimated to be 200 to 250 years old. 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A demonstrator was arrested on Wednesday for trespassing after protesting plans that would include chopping down a Fremont cottonwood tree, estimated to be 200 to 250 years old. 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