On Friday, April 12th, 2025 the Trump administration announced that they will be adding 24.7 miles of border wall construction in the San Rafael Valley in Southern Arizona.
Photo: Erick Meza with support of Lighthawk, San Rafael Valley AZ, US-Mexico Border
The proposed border wall in Arizona’s San Rafael Valley isn’t just another politically-motivated project—it’s an ecological catastrophe.
The San Rafael valley represents Southern Arizona’s last unwalled major biodiversity hotspot in the border region, a critical wildlife corridor in the middle of the Sky islands and the birthplace of the Santa Cruz River and also an important tributary of the San Pedro river, where species like the endangered jaguar and ocelot, as well as black bear, pronghorn, mountain lion and other species roam.
Blocking 25 miles of this landscape will sever connectivity for countless animals, pushing already vulnerable species closer to extinction.
Walls don’t address human migration—they do exacerbate human suffering and they do hamper animal movement. The San Rafael Valley’s unique ecosystems are irreplaceable.
This announcement comes on top of the proposal to block the Santa Cruz River’s 0.2 miles of border crossing and the Coronado National Memorial’s 2.1 miles.
Only about 18 miles of several smaller gaps in remote areas will remain open thanks to the lawsuit that Sierra Club with Southern Border Community Coalition filed in 2019 and the 65 miles of the Tohono O'odham nation, out of 372.5 miles of AZ border.
As contracts are now open for bids we can expect construction in some projects in Arizona to start anytime.
There could not be worse timing for blocking these migration corridors, currently the area is suffering the devastating effects of drought and wildlife needs to cover large amounts of territory to survive.
Photo: Erick Meza, Pronghorn herd in border grasslands
The Sierra Club borderlands program in collaboration with other environmental and social justice organizations will continue to advocate with the current government officials to stop this madness and in the worst case scenario to implement measurements that will ensure wildlife connectivity.
Photo: Erick Meza, Small wildlife passage
Small wildlife passages and all year long open storm gates will be very important to include in the design of the upcoming projects, stopping any kind of lighting infrastructure and trying to minimize harm will be very important, these are really fragile ecosystems and they need all the help they can get.
Please consider supporting the borderlands program, volunteering or donating.