Sierra Club: Border Wall Would Harm Endangered Species

Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump’s proposed border wall would harm threatened and endangered species, the Sierra Club claims in a new campaign. The Sierra Club’s Tucson affiliate is heading what it calls the Borderlands Project. In a video produced locally and marketed internationally, the group says the Trump wall proposal will not accomplish its intention - to curb illegal immigration - but will harm wildlife. “Border Patrol says over and over again that it only slows somebody down by five minutes," said Scott Nicol, a co-founder of the No Border Wall Coalition. "It’s basically a speed bump, but it’s a speed bump that is going to destroy critical habitat and also do tremendous damage to agriculture and ecotourism and the economy of an already very poor area,” Nicol said. Proponents of a border wall have repeatedly called it an integral step in stopping illegal immigration and that it must be built before any consideration of immigration reform. Among them is state Sen. Steve Smith, R-Maricopa, whose district includes the northernmost part of Pima County. “My oath of office is to protect the American people - not a species of animals," Smith said in an interview several months ago with Arizona Public Media when he was asked about wildlife and a wall...more