Quitobaquito Springs

Environmental groups warn that Trump’s border wall threatens Quitobaquito Springs, a desert oasis in Arizona sacred to the O’odham people and home to rare fish and turtles. The springs are described as a biologically unique site in the Sonoran desert.

Trump’s proposed second border wall near Quitobaquito Springs threatens three endangered species found nowhere else: the Sonoyta pupfish, Sonoyta Mud Turtle, and Quitobaquito springsnail. Conservationists warn the construction could destroy the species’ last natural habitat, with recent damage to a geoglyph in Cabeza Prieta National Wildlife Refuge raising concerns.

The Center for Biological Diversity is suing the Trump administration to protect the tine springsnail, found only in Quitobaquito Springs, from border wall construction. The lawsuit claims the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service failed to adequately protect the endangered species, which is threatened by the Tucson 2 Project border wall plan.