Despair after 200-year-old ‘grandmother’ tree toppled for Trump’s border wall: ‘It crushes your heart’

2026-10-10
Climate & Energy
News Desk

Protesters spent months occupying an ancient cottonwood. Then a tense standoff with US border patrol came to a head A 200-year-old cottonwood tree near the US-Mexico border , known as the “grandmother”, has been destroyed to make way for the construction of Donald Trump ’s border wall, despite a months-long effort by protesters trying to save it. In late July, land defenders began a tree-sit in the ghost town of Lochiel, Arizona , taking turns occupying a platform high in the tree’s canopy. The group remained there for more than 70 days. Continue reading...

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