11-11-07 - Border wall construction near Sasabe, both ports of entry visible.

I spent the other day on the US / Mexico border near Sasabe, AZ.

I've spent a lot of time on both sides of the border in this area and wanted to see the border wall construction with my own eyes. Here is a photo of some of the construction, which has progressed quickly. I would estimate this section of wall is almost complete.

The wall is put together in sections, making construction relatively quick and easy. The wall is approximately 12 feet tall and composed of hollow steel tubes filled with concrete. Each tube is spaced around 4 inches apart making it penetrable for fairly small animals, but I'm guessing the cutoff is likely between a bunny rabbit and jackrabbit. It's hard to know what the effect on small low flying birds might be.

The wall is placed only a few feet off the actual border and vegetation remains relatively undisturbed near the wall on the Mexican side. The private security firm Pinkerton is providing security for the construction zone and Sundt Construction is building the 7 mile wall for $31.5 million.

The Altar Valley, where this wall is being constructed, is mostly owned by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service as the Buenos Aries Wildlife Refuge. The area on the Mexican side is also very wild, with few people and vast stretches of biologically intact landscape. Endangered Jaguars are known to use the area on the Eastern end of the valley.

This area is the most important connection between Sonora and Arizona for the Cactus Ferruginous Pygmy-owl, which is known to be very unlikely to cross a wall of this scale due to their habit of flying only inches from the ground between perches. The potential effects on wildlife are so numerous and complex that it is very difficult for anyone to predict what all of the possible negative consequences will be.