Trump's wall-building now involves blowing up mountains in Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument

Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument
(Image credit: John Moore/Getty Images)

The section of President Trump's border wall being built through Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument in Arizona's Sonoran Desert has been controversial from the start. The national monument, established in 1937 and named a UNESCO International Biosphere Reserve in 1976, is not only a fragile ecological gem but also an area with deep spiritual and cultural importance to several Native American groups and dozens of unexplored ancient archeological sites. Homeland Security Department (DHS) contractors recently started blowing apart a mountain in the national monument to facilitate border wall construction, The Intercept reports.

"The construction contractor has begun controlled blasting, in preparation for new border wall system construction, within the Roosevelt Reservation at Monument Mountain in the U.S. Border Patrol's Tucson Sector," Customs and Border Protection told The Intercept in a statement. The blasting "will continue intermittently for the rest of the month," CBP added, and there will be "an environmental monitor present during these activities as well as on-going clearing activities."

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Peter Weber, The Week US

Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.