WASHINGTON The construction of President Donald Trumps border wall along the U.S.-Mexico border could damage or even destroy up to 22 archaeological sites at the Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument in Arizona, according to a report from the National Park Service that was obtained by the Washington Post.
The 123-page internal report dated July 2019 summarized the findings from a survey of 11.3 miles of land along the border in southwestern Arizona that experts said is home to an abundance of natural and cultural resources unique to the Sonoran Desert. The report said previous research from the agency recorded 17 archaeological sites that likely will be wholly or partially destroyed by forthcoming border fence construction. A more recent survey in June identified five more sites that would be affected.
The border wall construction on the land overseen by the National Park Service, as described in the report, would replace existing barriers with taller steel fences that are anchored by deep concrete and steel foundations. It would also create new roads along the U.S. side of the border, and include installation of surveillance equipment. That construction, archaeologists warn in the report, means on-site cultural and natural resources are imperiled.
The Washington Post reported that the Department of Homeland Security has relied on a 2005 law to waive federal requirements including the Archaeological Resources Protection Act, the National Historic Preservation Act and the Endangered Species Act that could have slowed and even stopped the barriers construction on the lands in Arizona.
The Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument is named for the long, thin cacti that dot the desert landscape. It is designated as an international biosphere reserve, meaning it serves as an example of an intact Sonoran Desert ecosystem that scientists can reference to determine the impact of humans in the area. The history of humans in the region traces back at least 10,500 years, the agency reports. The report said previous surveys of the land did not test for potentially buried archaeological deposits at sites such as habitation areas, rock shelters, camp sites and trails.
It is probable that significant, presently unrecorded surface-level and buried archaeological deposits persist … and we must assume that all such unrecorded deposits will be destroyed over the course of ensuing border wall construction, the report said, citing that artifacts discovered at the sites have ties to ancient nomadic peoples and Native American groups, among others.
The Post reports that at least a dozen Native American groups have ties to the lands within the monument. This includes the Tohono Oodham Nation, whose reservation borders the parks boundaries.
Weve historically lived in this area from time immemorial, Tohono Oodham Nation Chairman Ned Norris Jr. told the Post. We feel very strongly that this particular wall will desecrate this area forever. I would compare it to building a wall over your parents graveyards. It would have the same effect.
THE REPORT ultimately recommends that the five newly discovered archaeological sites be protected by a National Register of Historic Places designation and that all unsurveyed areas of the national monuments southern boundary be reviewed as soon as is possible, in light of impending border fence construction along the parks entire 30-mile southern boundary, entailing ground disturbance across the whole, 60-foot wide Roosevelt Reservation.
The construction of a wall along the nearly 2,000-mile U.S.-Mexico border has been one of Trumps signature promises, and one that he has aggressively pursued. When Trump was on the campaign trail, he vowed to erect a southern border wall to block people from illegally crossing into the U.S.
