A newly built segment of the border wall further threatens rare desert fish, the conservation organization says
A newly built segment of the border wall in southern Arizona won’t just keep out illegal immigrants, a conservation nonprofit says.
The marginal wall segment and “a paved road across Arizona’s California Gorge blocks a river flow critical to the survival of one of only two U.S. populations of Sonora chub,” the Center for Biological Diversity said in a news release.
The “rare desert fish” is a “small, moderately chubby fish that feeds on a variety of native food sources and has a unique and distinctive red coloration on its underside when in breeding condition,” the organization said.
“The new wall and road will push these endangered fish to the brink of extinction,” Dr. Krista Kemppinen, Senior Scientist at the Center for Biological Diversity.
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A then and now view of a portion of the border wall in southern Arizona that affects the endangered Sonoran chub. (Russ McSpadden/Center for Biological Diversity)
“The Survival of sonoran chub it depends on being able to access scarce desert water on both sides of the border, exchange genetic material with nearby populations in Mexico, and boost its population by upstream migrations of fish from Sonora after droughts. The new construction makes all that impossible,” she continued.
The organization drew attention to the matter only a few days before President-elect Donald Trump is ready to resume his duties and step up his efforts to secure the border.
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A close-up view of the endangered Sonoran chub, a “creek-dwelling minnow” that is typically five to seven inches long. (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service)
“Designating the Gorge of California as critical habitat is more urgent than ever to reduce other threats, such as keeping cows out of the Sonora chub basin,” Kemppinen said in a statement. “It is also imperative that carefully designed culverts be added to the new border infrastructure to allow at least some semblance of natural flow and migration. If federal officials are serious about saving these fish, they must act now.”
Earlier this month, Trump sparked a heated debate over whether Democrats should be blamed for the California wildfires after he accused Gov. Gavin Newsom of caring more about protecting endangered fish species known as smolts than protecting the state’s residents from wildfires.
President Donald Trump speaks with U.S. Border Patrol chief Rodney Scott as they participate in a ceremony marking the 200th mile of the border wall on the international border with Mexico in San Luis, Arizona, June 23, 2020. (SAUL LOEB/AFP)
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Trump sparked a firestorm Wednesday when he called out Newsom on his Truth Social platform for wanting to “protect essentially worthless fish” instead of protecting the water needs of Californians. However, the comments are not new. Ahead of the November election, Trump made the point during an October interview with podcaster Joe Rogan.
Neither the Center for Biological Diversity nor Trump’s transition team responded to a request for comment for this story.
Fox News’ Alec Schemmel contributed to this report.
