Quitobaquito Springs in Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument, Arizona, is threatened by plans to build a second 30 ft steel bollard wall 90 to 150 feet north of an existing 30 ft wall. The spring feeds a pond that supports the only wild populations of Sonoyta pupfish and springsnails and is the only U.S. habitat for the Sonoyta mud turtle; the southern edge of the pond lies 190 feet from the border. During construction of the first 30 ft wall in 2020 the spring’s flow fell to an all-time low and the pond partially dried after its lining cracked. Environmentalists say heavy machinery for the new barrier would likely destroy part of the pond and level a nearby mesquite grove that is federally recognized critical habitat where mud turtles burrow. Sierra Club borderlands coordinator Erick Meza called the scale of the secondary-wall program ‘‘unbelievable,’’ and Tara Harris, director of conservation and science at the Phoenix Zoo, warned the project ‘‘could destroy the last remaining habitat for multiple imperiled species.’' Border crossings in the Organ Pipe area have been negligible since 2025, and activists note that 34 miles of double 30 ft barriers have already been completed elsewhere along the Arizona-Sonora border.
