'A whole ecosystem:' Border wall construction inches toward historic cottonwoods in Lochiel

Sierra Club says century-old trees felled to make way for border wall

Locals say the trees have served as a community gathering place for generations and are ecologically rare.

'A whole ecosystem:' Border wall construction inches toward historic cottonwoods in Lochiel

This article originally appeared on Arizona Public Media, Southern Arizona’s PBS and NPR station. In sweltering heat Tuesday morning, a contractor steered a yellow excavator along a dirt road in Lochiel, 25 miles east of Nogales. He tore a gaping hole into the U.S.-Mexico border fence within minutes, and the screech of warping metal echoed through the San Rafael Valley. Update A video shared on social media Monday morning showed large bulldozer…