'In Danger' Status Sought for Reserve at Risk From Wall
To the long list of creatures, communities and lands threatened by Trump's proposed border wall, add a precious World Heritage Site: El Pinacate and Gran Desierto de Altar Biosphere Reserve. This week the Center and allies -- including the Tohono-O'odham people of Sonora, Mexico -- petitioned UNESCO to declare the 2,700-square-mile site in Mexico "in danger" from the wall.
The proposed 30-foot, "impenetrable" wall would block wildlife migration and threaten unique species that evolved over millions of years in the U.S.-Mexico border area. These include Sonoran pronghorn, the world's second-fastest land animal; endangered jaguars; bighorn sheep; and low-flying owls.
"Trump's wall is wrong for so many reasons," said Sarah Uhlemann, international program director at the Center and author of the petition. "It would forever divide essential habitat for endangered Sonoran Desert animals."
Read more (and watch a video) at USA TODAY.