July 29, 2026, 10:47 p.m. ET
Conservationists defending a historic tree standing in the way of President Donald Trump’s border wall in Arizona began staging a “tree sit” on July 29 to keep contractors from tearing down the towering cottonwood.
The cottonwood is the last of four hardwood trees from a species that’s believed to have stood alongside the U.S.-Mexico border in Lochiel, Arizona, for between 100 and 200 years. Department of Homeland Security contractors tore down the first of the three trees on July 27.
Conservationists in the area have rallied around the remaining tree, slamming Homeland Security for not picking an alternative route that does not involve cutting down the trees.
The cottonwoods have provided people a shady gathering place for generations, conservationists say. And for local wildlife, the trees are essential for the area’s diverse and rare species, including potentially the few jaguars that range into the United States.
“Destroying these ancient cottonwoods is a death sentence for an entire ecosystem,” said Russ McSpadden, a conservation advocate at the Center for Biological Diversity, a nonprofit founded in 1989 focused on protecting endangered species. “These magnificent cottonwoods survived centuries, nourishing wildlife through floods and drought, only to be bulldozed for the Trump administration’s disastrous border wall.”
In a phone call with USA TODAY, McSpadden described the cottonwoods as “a green ribbon that runs through the desert.”
He noted the trees draw water to the surface, giving jaguars and ocelots a place to cross the border as they head to hunt in the Arizona mountains. For birds, he described the cottonwoods as “apartment buildings,” providing a habitat for everything from owls to the legally protected Cassin’s kingbird conservationists say was nesting in one of the destroyed cottonwoods.
Homeland Security officials have said the trees needed to be removed to build Trump’s promised border wall. Officials have not answered questions regarding whether they considered alternative routes that did not involve demolishing the trees, which can grow to be around 100 feet tall and 50 feet wide.
Activists participating in the tree sit, which consists of sitting in the tree branches, previously told USA TODAY they plan to participate in the protest as long as they can.
At least one person was arrested for trespassing in connection with an earlier protest to stop contractors from demolishing the other trees. Santa Cruz County authorities have not responded for additional comment on whether there have been further arrests in connection with the latest protest.
In a letter addressed to Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin and shared with USA TODAY, the Center for Biological said “ancient cottonwoods of Lochiel cannot be replaced once they are destroyed.”
The group added Homeland Security and Border Patrol “have an opportunity and an obligation to prevent further harm to this irreplaceable borderlands landscape.”
