Stop Construction of a Border Wall in Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument

The DHS SmartWall website has published plans to construct a secondary, 30-foot border wall through designated wilderness in the Cabeza Prieta NWR and Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument. Waivers have been issued by Kristi Noem to bypass environmental laws in order to expedite construction for various sections of the wall, despite border crossings in the southwest dropping nearly 93% between 2024 and 2025.

Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument is home to the northernmost population of organ pipe cacti, and is situated in the ecologically diverse Sonoran Desert. The national monument and its neighboring national wildlife refuge, Cabeza Prieta, are home to numerous endangered species - including the Sonoran pronghorn, Sonoyta mud turtle, and Quitobaquito pupfish. The pupfish and mud turtle rely on the perennial spring A’al Vaipia (also known as Quitobaquito) to survive, but the spring is located on the direct path of the proposed second border wall. The loss of this spring is in direct violation of the Endangered Species Act (ESA) and would have disastrous impacts to the plants and animals that rely on this water to survive. In addition to being an ESA-designated critical habitat, A’al Vaipia is a sacred place for the Tohono O’odham people and a historic site along traditional trading and travel routes of early settlers.

The contract to build a second wall has not yet been awarded for Organ Pipe Cactus NM, but the SmartWall website still lists it as “planned.” DHS has awarded a contract to begin construction in the Cabeza Prieta NWR (the Tucson 1 Project) and plans to build eastward toward the monument.

Content for this topic kindly provided by The Resistance Rangers and No Big Bend Border Wall.