Our Loss

They are going to tear out some of the beautiful cottonwood trees along the San Pedro River because of the ridiculous and obscene wall Trump insists on building. In a land of vast arid desert, this precious river oasis has been protected for years through the auspices of the San Pedro Raparian National Conservation Area (SPRNCA), providing shelter and life for much plant and animal life. Now, habitat for up to 21 threatened and endangered species will be disrupted and migration impeded.

Scott Feldhausen, a BLM Gila District manager says that especially the jaguar, ocelot, Mexican wolf, Mexican long-nosed bat, and Mexican spotted owl may be impacted by the lighting and physical barrier being built. He wrote in a report: “This unique ecological landscape provides a home to over 250 migrating bird species, 10 species listed under the Endangered Species Act as either threatened or endangered, 12 BLM sensitive species and 28 species of greatest conservation need.”

Feldhausen also talks about damage to the river and the soil: “Channel incision and increased erosion could result from a barrier which blocks water flow and sediment creating hydrological changes which could affect the functionality of the SPRNCA, its wildlife and roads and trails adjacent to the river, particularly in times of high flow.”

In other words, this wall is going to mess with the delicate balance of nature out here in the desert, wreaking havoc and possible extinction to many of our fellow creatures on this planet. I suppose we shouldn’t be surprised that the same mentality that polluted the world’s air and waters, ripped up the land to extract minerals, and brought on the imminent demise of us all through climate change should care not a whit about the ecological effects of this wall. Long has the white man ignored the fact that he is a part of nature, utterly dependent on the health of Mother Nature.

But it doesn’t take a scientific report to see that the wall doesn’t belong here. You can see it with the naked eye. The sight of it is jarring, like oil washed up on beaches, like coolant towers rising out of nuclear power plants, like cruise missiles streaking through the sky. It is an unnatural wound and doesn’t belong on this earth. It is, in fact, one more sign of the tragic and self-inflicted demise we humans are bringing upon ourselves and the rest of god’s creation.

We are living in a time of such loss. Our loss.

The wall is visible out there in the distance