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<\/p>\r\nORGAN PIPE CACTUS NATIONAL MONUMENT \u2013 Replanted saguaros stand like sentinels along a wide access road and a towering, 30-foot bollard barrier that\u2019s part of construction ordered by then-President Donald Trump. But further along the border, the new barrier ends, the road is incomplete, construction materials lay scattered and uprooted plants have long since died.
<\/p>\r\nLocals, security experts and environmentalists say the half-finished project has introduced more problems than it fixed.
<\/p>\r\nNow, the administration of President Joe Biden \u2013 which paused wall construction in January \u2013 faces a logistical, ethical and political quandary in determining the best way to proceed. Some groups and interests want the wall finished, others want to remove what has already been built.
<\/p>\r\n\r\nKelly Glenn-Kimbro, a fifth-generation rancher from Douglas, and Rijk Morawe of the National Park Service come from vastly different backgrounds and work along the border in different regions of Arizona. But both say the wall \u2013 as it stands \u2013 is little more than a political prop that has failed to secure the border with Mexico but has damaged landscapes and habitat in southern Arizona.
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<\/div><\/p>\r\nFor them, the solution is to mitigate the damage caused during the building process by finishing access roads, completing flood control infrastructure and repairing as much environmental damage as possible.
<\/p>\r\n\u201cThey got the fence built, right?\u201d said Morawe, the chief of natural and cultural resources management at Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument, which runs 30 miles along the border. \u201cNow they need to finish the project so that they don\u2019t leave issues going forward.\u201d
<\/p>\r\nGlenn-Kimbro, who first caught the national spotlight in the 1980s when firearms manufacturer Ruger asked her to star in advertisements as the Ruger Girl, has been an advocate for border security for 45 years.
<\/p>\r\nBut the wall, for which $15 billion was allocated during Trump\u2019s tenure, is a waste of taxpayers\u2019 money, she said, because it doesn\u2019t stop illegal border crossings. Glenn-Kimbro feels this way even though her ranch, which abuts Mexico, benefited financially from the construction.
<\/p>\r\n\u201cInstead of doing it right, they were just going to do it,\u201d she said. \u201cSo instead of ending up with something very effective, they end up with something that\u2019s a total disaster.\u201d
<\/p>\r\nIn areas where barrier construction has been finished, there have been multiple reports of migrants scaling the wall with homemade ladders.
<\/p>\r\n <\/p>\r\nMaking good on a campaign promise, Biden \u201cpaused\u201d border wall construction<\/a> in an executive order on his first day in office. The order demanded top officials in relevant departments, including Defense and Homeland Security, to present a plan by March 26 to redirect funds and repurpose contracts originally drawn up to build the wall. <\/p>\r\nThat deadline passed without a resolution, leaving construction and staging sites along the wall abandoned with building materials baking in the sun, sections of constructed wall flat on the ground and various tasks undone, including the completion of floodgates, road grading, and measures to prevent flooding. <\/p>\r\nThat\u2019s in contrast to some locations where new 30-foot-tall steel bollard barrier towers over the Arizona landscape. The concrete-filled bollards are 6 inches wide, with 4-inch gaps between them. <\/p>\r\nOn April 30, the Department of Homeland Security announced it would work to complete some parts of the border barrier project to prevent flooding and erosion, but the length of the barrier would not be extended. <\/p>\r\n <\/p>\r\nMorawe sought a compromise with Customs and Border Protection before the building began, in August 2019. He said the National Park Service had hoped the existing 15-foot-tall barrier built in 2008 along a stretch of 5.3 miles of Organ Pipe\u2019s total of 30 miles of borderline would be raised by 3 feet, instead of doubling it to 30 feet. NPS also requested that lights not be installed because of their potential negative impact on wildlife. <\/p>\r\nThose requests were denied. On the ground, CBP used all the land legally available under the federal law to build the barrier. <\/p>\r\n\u201cThey took the full 60 feet. \u2026 They did everything,\u201d Morawe said, referring to the so-called Roosevelt Reservation, a 60-foot swath of federal land that runs on the U.S. side of the border in California, Arizona and New Mexico and is reserved for border security purposes. <\/p>\r\nThe project moved forward with the 30-foot wall, light system and a wide all-weather gravel road that took up the full width of the Roosevelt Reservation. The new 30-foot high barrier now runs the entire length of the Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument. <\/p>\r\nMorawe said the Park Service did get some concessions, such as where construction staging would take place. <\/p>\r\n <\/P>\r\nAccording to Customs and Border Protection, about 458 miles of \u201cborder wall system\u201d were constructed during Trump\u2019s tenure. Of the total, 373 miles were replacement barriers for some kind of previous fence or barrier. All-new construction totaled 85 miles. <\/p>\r\nGlenn-Kimbro, at her ranch about 200 miles east of Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument, voiced her frustration with construction of the border wall because of the impacts on the environment and its failure to secure the border. <\/p>\r\n\u201cWe\u2019ve seen this huge change from the beginning when we were telling the United States government that there was this huge invasion of people,\u201d Glenn-Kimbro said. \u201cThere was tons and tons of trash and hundreds of people, men, women, children from all sorts of countries.\u201d <\/p>\r\nGlenn-Kimbro said she noticed a reduction in migrants crossing her land when vehicle barriers were put in place in 2007 and 2008. <\/p>\r\nShe said the Border Patrol\u2019s horse patrol continues to be an effective method of securing the border, but the wall itself \u2013 especially in its current condition \u2013 is not. <\/p>\r\n\u201cThey could have eliminated putting up the wall and just have surveillance,\u201d Glenn-Kimbro said. <\/p>\r\n <\/p>\r\nAbout 10 years ago, the Border Patrol built towers on her ranch that were effective and had a relatively small environmental footprint, she said. <\/p>\r\nGlenn-Kimbro said she was especially frustrated by the new blasting and road-building that took place in the Peloncillo Mountains, which are at the northern tip of the home range of the North American jaguar<\/a>, an animal that\u2019s on the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service\u2019s endangered species list and whose numbers in the United States have dwindled to the single digits. <\/p>\r\n\u201cIt wasn\u2019t accessible, that\u2019s why they had to blast,\u201d Glenn-Kimbro said. <\/p>\r\nBy blasting and road building, she said, the government has made the area more accessible to those illegally crossing the border, actually reducing border security. <\/p>\r\n\u201cThey need to fix what they messed up,\u201d Glenn-Kimbro said. <\/p>\r\nTo her, this includes restoring the natural landscape, establishing erosion prevention measures and restoring grasslands. <\/p>\r\n\u201cOf course, wildlife and the environment is the last priority,\u201d Glenn-Kimbro said. \u201cAnd it shouldn\u2019t be, because that\u2019s a renewable resource.\u201d <\/p>\r\n <\/p>\r\nGlenn-Kimbro became directly involved in the debate over wall construction when concerns were raised about the effects on the San Bernardino National Wildlife Refuge east of Douglas, not far from her ranch. The wetlands are an important habitat for several types of wildlife, including five endangered species of fish. <\/p>\r\n\r\nConcerns hit a fever pitch last December when emails from refuge manager Bill Radke were made public through a Freedom of Information Act request by the Center for Biological Diversity<\/a>, based in Tucson. <\/p>\r\nIn the emails, Radke, who has managed the refuge for two decades, explained how his staff was scrambling to minimize the harm to endangered species reliant on the manmade ponds at San Bernardino. <\/p>\r\n\u201cOngoing border infrastructure construction is utilizing large volumes of groundwater from the San Bernardino Valley, and that water withdrawal is already impacting many refuge wells, ponds, and other wetlands,\u201d Radke wrote in a Dec. 11 email to staff members. \u201cIn an effort to initiate \u2018life support\u2019 actions, refuge staff have salvaged fish and allowed three refuge ponds to go dry.\u201d <\/p>\r\n \r\n <\/p>\r\nRadke appeared particularly concerned about water being extracted by contractors from the nearby Glenn Well, owned by Glenn-Kimbro, who had a federal contract for $1.50 per 1,000 gallons of water pumped from the well. <\/p>\r\nRadke wrote that he feared there would be a detrimental impact on groundwater levels by an estimated extraction of 700,000 gallons of water per day at a proposed cement plant developed on the Glenn Ranch for wall construction. <\/p>\r\nIn a reply to Radke, Glenn-Kimbro wrote that she was trying to stop, stall or alter the contract. <\/p>\r\n\u201cYou know the environmental trump card is not going to work\u201d with federal officials, Glenn-Kimbro wrote. \u201cI am now trying the practicality and liability angle.\u201d <\/p>\r\n \r\n Cronkite Borderlands Project<\/a> is a multimedia reporting program in which students cover human rights, immigration and border issues in the U.S. and abroad in both English and Spanish.\r\n <\/p>\r\n <\/div>\r\n <\/div>\r\n <\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n <\/p>\r\nThe rancher later noted that the government was using eminent domain in Texas to secure resources needed for the barrier. Rather than fight the federal government, Glenn-Kimbro said, she leased the land on her ranch that contractors needed to build the fence, as well as provide water and gravel for the project. <\/p>\r\n\r\n\u201cWhen they were mandated to build that wall, they were going to use gravel and dirt and water. Period,\u201d Glenn-Kimbro said. <\/p>\r\nShe said income from the deal has been a godsend for her ranch, which had to operate at reduced capacity during construction. <\/p>\r\n\u201cThe money we got for the rent is the way we were financially able to stay in business, because we had to reduce our cattle numbers, we could only use half of our ranch for a year and a half,\u201d she said. <\/p>\r\n <\/P>\r\nThe Fish and Wildlife Service declined to make Radke available for an interview for this story. However, the agency said in a statement that the fears he voiced in his emails to staff had not come to fruition. <\/p>\r\n\u201cSan Bernardino National Wildlife Refuge ponds remain intact, and the refuge continues to manage for endangered fish and wildlife,\u201d Beth Ullenberg, an external affairs officer for the service, wrote in an email response to questions. \u201cCustoms and Border Protection conducts some analysis and studies to minimize the impact of border security to species and habitats.\u201d <\/p>\r\nAlthough Morawe and Glenn-Kimbro are mostly resigned to the wall\u2019s imposing presence, a coalition of anti-wall activists, including Defenders of Wildlife and the Center for Biological Diversity, are asking the Biden administration to remove more than 55 miles of barrier built under Trump in Arizona. <\/p>\r\nAt the end of February, the coalition called on the administration to take five steps to mitigate and remediate the damage done to the environment and cultural sites during barrier construction. These included cancelling construction contracts and diverting the funds to other purposes, \u201cincluding removing harmful wall sections and mitigating damage caused by the wall.\u201d <\/p>\r\n <\/p>\r\nThe letter also asks that the Biden administration \u201ctake immediate action to restore fragile and ecologically sensitive areas that have been harmed by wall construction\u201d and \u201cremove wall segments that harm or threaten to harm people, communities, wildlife and\/or the land, and remediate damages.\u201d <\/p>\r\n\u201cAt a minimum, we have to take down sections of wall where they\u2019re blocking wildlife migration,\u201d said Laiken Jordahl, a borderlands campaigner with the Center for Biological Diversity. \u201cWe have to work to revegetate all of the habitat that\u2019s been bulldozed by Border Patrol.\u201d <\/p>\r\nOf the approximately 55 miles of barrier identified by the group, 7 are in the Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument and 4.3 are along the San Bernardino National Wildlife Refuge, near Glenn Ranch. <\/p>\r\nAlthough Biden so far has delivered on his promise that there would not be \u201canother foot of wall constructed,\u201d there is no clarity on what the administration\u2019s plans are moving forward. <\/p>\r\n\u201cThat\u2019s been encouraging in some respects, but definitely can\u2019t hold our breath just yet,\u201d Jordahl said. \u201cThere\u2019s a lot, a lot more we got to do to actually make sure they don\u2019t start building again.\u201d <\/p>\r\n <\/p>\r\nIn early May, the government began filling in gaps in levees in the Rio Grande Valley in Texas that were excavated to build barriers. Levees will be shored up multiple places along a 13.4-mile stretch where construction was not completed. Filling in more gaps in the wall are not included in the construction project. <\/p>\r\nSome of the primary concerns environmental advocates have about border barriers are that they block wildlife corridors, divide wildlife territories and limit access to vital water resources in Mexico. Removal of native vegetation is a particular concern. <\/p>\r\n\u201cThat bulldozing destroys the vegetation and makes it very unlikely for wildlife to go out into those exposed areas, thereby blocking wildlife from crossing the border, even small wildlife that can fit in between the posts,\u201d said Dan Millis, the Sierra Club Grand Canyon Chapter Borderlands program manager. <\/p>\r\nOne big question Morawe has is how the contiguous wall along the national monument will affect wildlife that relied on water and food sources in Mexico. <\/p>\r\n\u201cUnfortunately, our animals aren\u2019t getting water,\u201d he said. <\/p>\r\n <\/p>\r\nThe National Park Service already has put some water tubs out for wildlife within the park and is working with the Arizona Game & Fish Department to develop water stations featuring 1,200-gallon tanks with troughs. <\/p>\r\n\u201cThat\u2019s not something we normally do,\u201d Morawe said. \u201cBut we don\u2019t normally see a 28.5 mile solid fence in a national park, either.\u201d <\/p>\r\nMorawe also is concerned about erosion, light pollution, impacts on natural water flow and the current flood mitigation measures. <\/p>\r\nErosion already is occurring along some sections of the all-season road that haven\u2019t been reinforced with larger rocks and concrete, which is one reason Morawe wants contractors to resume their work. <\/p>\r\n <\/p>\r\nIn the bright light of a Monday morning in mid-April, Morawe pointed to a sump in the road where scarce spring rains had puddled. It\u2019s possible to create an all-weather road without affecting the natural sheet flow of water across the landscape, he said, noting that there are examples of it within Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument. However, those designs were not used for the border barrier. <\/p>\r\nMaintaining sheet flow of water prevents flooding issues, including debris buildup against the bollards, Morawe said. However, a raised road like this one corrals this thin, uniform flow of water into unstable channels and ponds. <\/p>\r\nWater backed up by the road has moved beyond the cleared boundaries of the Roosevelt Reservation into National Park land, causing destruction. <\/p>\r\n\r\n\u201cSome of the cacti are inundated,\u201d Morawe said. \u201cAnd, of course, they\u2019re going to die \u2013 they can\u2019t handle that kind of water.\u201d <\/p> <\/p>\r\nTo the east, a more than 100-year-old saguaro that had been replanted lay broken and rotting because of water inundation. <\/p>\r\nSaguaros, which are protected in Arizona, also are considered sacred by the Tohono O\u2019odham, who have for more than 1,000 years visited Quitobaquito Springs<\/a> in what now is the national monument. <\/p>\r\n\u201cFor us, we actually believe that saguaros are our ancestors that kind of, like, stand and protect us, they watch over us,\u201d said Lourdes Pereira, a member of the Hia C-ed O\u2019odham Alliance and Miss Indigenous Arizona State University. <\/p>\r\nLorraine Eiler, first vice president of the Hia C-ed O\u2019odham Alliance and member of the Tohono O\u2019odham Legislative Council, said the impact to her homeland caused by contractors clearing land for the wall has been devastating. <\/p>\r\n\u201cThey have completely reorganized the topography of the land,\u201d Eiler said. \u201cI am waiting \u2013 other people are waiting \u2013 for the first big rainstorm that we get.\u201d <\/p>\r\n Tribal and congressional leaders are condemning the \u201cutterly shameful\u201d use of tear gas and rubber bullets to disperse a border wall protest. #DefendOodhamLand<\/a> #TrumpWall<\/a> #Arizona<\/a> https:\/\/t.co\/QsOq1PQoD9<\/a><\/p>— indianz.com (@indianz) October 21, 2020<\/a><\/blockquote>![\"\"](\"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/08\/STOPPED.jpg\")
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\r\n <\/div>\r\n Cronkite Borderlands Project<\/a><\/h5>\r\n
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<\/a> SAN BERNARDINO NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE, ARIZONA – A vermilion flycatcher perches near a pond in the wildlife refuge on March 13, 2021. (Photo by Isaac Stone Simonelli\/Cronkite Borderlands Project)<\/figcaption>\r\n![\"JAVELINA\"](\"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/08\/JAVELINA.jpg\")
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