Arizona Cottonwood Tree Sit Protests Target Border Wall Construction

Activists staged a tree‑sit in the San Rafael Valley near Lochiel, Arizona, to protect a roughly 100‑foot‑tall cottonwood after Department of Homeland Security contractors cut down three neighboring trees as part of the Trump administration’s border‑wall project.

Protesters climbed into the remaining tree, and at least one was arrested for trespassing. Conservationists, including Russ McSpadden of the Center for Biological Diversity, warned that destroying the ancient cottonwoods threatens the riparian ecosystem that supports jaguars, ocelots, black bears, pronghorn and hundreds of bird species, and noted that federal waivers exempt the wall from key environmental and historic‑preservation laws.