Construction crews could soon begin work on a second border wall in southwestern Arizona, threatening one of North America's most ecologically fragile locations. The barrier would rise just 90 to 150 feet from an existing 30-foot structure at Quitobaquito Springs, a desert oasis that harbors species found nowhere else on Earth.
The springs sit within Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument, a remote stretch of the Sonoran Desert along the US-Mexico border. Water flows from an underground aquifer through a concrete channel into a shallow pond, creating the only reliable water source for roughly 100 miles in any direction. For the Oâodham people, who call the place Aâal Vaipia, it has been sacred for millennia.
Three species depend almost entirely on this single location. The Sonoyta pupfish, a small silvery fish with upturned jaws, lives nowhere else in the wild. Equally rare are springsnails the size of chia seeds, a mollusk species restricted to the spring's channel. The Sonoyta mud turtle, distinguished by its domed shell and remarkable tolerance for scarce water, survives only here in the United States.
The Department of Homeland Security awarded a contract to Sundt Construction in late May to build the new wall section. Workers have already been spotted surveying the area and planting markers, suggesting construction could begin at any moment.
Damage Already Done
The first wall, completed in 2020, left marks on the fragile ecosystem. Heavy machinery cracked the pond's bottom lining, causing significant water loss. Spring flow dropped to historic lows. Researchers had to relocate aquatic wildlife temporarily and reinforce the pond structure.
The new construction would strike even closer to critical habitat. The southern edge of the pond sits just 190 feet from the Mexican border, putting much of it directly in the path of heavy equipment. A nearby mesquite grove where mud turtles burrow, part of the federally designated critical habitat, would likely be bulldozed.
Michael Bogan, an aquatic ecologist at the University of Arizona leading the mud turtle recovery effort, worries that groundwater pumping necessary for wall construction could exhaust the aquifer feeding the springs. The border patrol previously estimated that a single mile of fencing built nearby in 2008 consumed 710,000 gallons of water. Current construction uses larger structures, potentially requiring even more.
"That's the concern that keeps me up," Bogan said.
The springs likely draw water from both ancient groundwater reserves and the Rio Sonoyta to the south. If pumping lowers the water table below the point where water exits at the surface, the springs could run dry permanently.
Race to Save Endangered Species
Facing the possibility of total habitat destruction, researchers are preparing emergency measures. The pond currently homes roughly 250 mud turtles. The Arizona-Sonoran Desert Museum, which maintains a backup population of 20 turtles, has agreed to accept up to 50 more if necessary. The Phoenix Zoo is prepared to take additional animals.
The only wild population of Quitobaquito springsnails fits into an area the size of three parking spaces. The Phoenix Zoo houses the species' only captive population in two tanks. Pupfish have about five backup groups in captivity, including at a pond in Tucson.
But researchers emphasize that temporary housing is not a solution. "Our main concern is that there's a place for them to go back to," said Debra Colodner, director of conservation science at the Arizona-Sonoran Desert Museum.
Tara Harris, director of conservation and science at the Phoenix Zoo, warned that the planned construction "could destroy the last remaining habitat for multiple imperiled species."
Border crossing data undermines the wall's stated purpose. In the Organ Pipe area, illegal immigration has been negligible since 2025. Although tens of thousands of asylum seekers passed through during 2023 and 2024, numbers dropped sharply after the Biden administration restricted asylum access. Immigration experts note that most people crossing in such remote areas intend to be apprehended to apply for asylum.
Sacred Ground at Risk
The springs hold deep cultural significance for the Oâodham. The Hia-Ced Oâodham, a subset of the larger Oâodham nation, lived in the area until the 1950s when the national park service purchased the land. The springs served as a way station on traditional routes to the Sea of Cortez, where people gathered salt.
The proposed wall would destroy much of an on-site cemetery and desecrate more than 40 gravesites, according to Christina Bell Andrews, a Hia-Ced Oâodham leader and director of the Wassaja Center for Native American Health at the University of Arizona.
In April, bulldozers cleared land near a 1,000-year-old earthwork called an intaglio, a 200-foot fish figure pointing south toward the sea. The destruction of this sacred site alarmed Oâodham leaders and conservationists alike. "Such reckless behavior could destroy that place," said Russ McSpadden, a conservation advocate at the Center for Biological Diversity.
The secondary wall would likely block Puerto Blanco Drive, the main access road for most vehicles visiting the springs. Oâodham people use this route regularly for spiritual ceremonies. Closure would force travelers onto a primitive road requiring high-clearance vehicles, turning an hour-long journey from the visitor center into an all-day trip.
The Department of Homeland Security has announced that the road could close as soon as next week. Federal authorities cited the need to accommodate contractors working on border barriers in both Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument and the nearby Cabeza Prieta National Wildlife Refuge.
Construction traffic has already made travel difficult. Construction-related activity now stretches across roughly 34 miles of completed secondary barriers in Arizona, with another 390 miles under construction and 155 miles under contract.
The 2005 Real ID Act grants the Department of Homeland Security authority to waive environmental and cultural protection laws, including the Endangered Species Act, the National Environmental Policy Act, and the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act. The agency has used this power extensively here.
When asked about environmental concerns, CBP said it was "working with the US Fish and Wildlife Service and National Park Service to avoid Quitobaquito Springs and minimize impacts to sensitive resources." The agency declined further comment. A spokesperson previously committed to avoiding groundwater pumping within five miles of the springs, the same pledge made in 2020, though hydrological studies suggest water likely flows from farther away.
Aaron Cooper, executive director of the International Sonoran Desert Alliance, expressed frustration at the lack of transparency. "I have never seen anything with so little planning and oversight, of this scale and scope," Cooper said. "No outreach, no messaging, no comment periods, absolutely nothing. Radio silence."
Wynona Larson Yazzie, an Oâodham elder and community organizer, summed up the mood among tribal members. "It's too much for us right now. It's overwhelming," she said. "And everybody needs to know what's happening."
Author James Rodriguez: "Destroying a sacred spring and three imperiled species to build a wall in an area with virtually no border crossings is conservation malpractice, plain and simple."
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