边境墙施工伐倒百年棉白杨林 最后一棵树在Lochiel被砍
亚利桑那州Santa Cruz县Lochiel一带、靠近美墨边境的一片棉白杨林，已被边境墙承包商砍伐。据KJZZ 10月19日报道，林中最后一棵高大的棉白杨于本月早些时候在Tucson东南部边境线一带被伐倒，抗议者拍摄的视频记录了大树倒下的过程；这片林子的树龄约150至200年。
美国海关与边境保护局（CBP）表示，清除这片林木是为修建两道平行钢墙让路，该工程是耗资数十亿美元的边境墙项目的一部分。两个多月前，林中其他树木已被推倒，抗议者在最后一棵树的枝丫间搭起木质平台，并在相邻私人土地上露营守树。本月，边境巡逻队人员进入营地，用起重机将树上的人带走，此后施工加快，现场钢板约每六分钟竖起一块。
Tohono O'odham部落方面表示，接下来可能有数以千计的仙人掌被清除。一名联邦法官此前已暂时叫停德克萨斯州Big Bend国家公园周边地段的边境墙施工，但亚利桑那州的工程仍在继续。（GSM 据KJZZ报道）
Border Wall Crews Fell Last Tree in Centuries-Old Cottonwood Grove Near Lochiel
A grove of cottonwood trees near Lochiel in Santa Cruz County, Arizona, along the U.S.-Mexico border, has been felled by border wall contractors, KJZZ reported on October 19. The last towering cottonwood in the grove, southeast of Tucson, was cut down earlier this month, and protesters filmed the tree crashing to the ground. The trees in the grove were estimated to be 150 to 200 years old.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection said clearing the grove was needed to make way for two parallel steel walls, part of a multibillion-dollar border wall project. The other trees in the grove were bulldozed more than two months ago, and protesters set up a wooden platform in the branches of the last tree and camped on adjacent private land. This month, Border Patrol agents entered the camp and used a crane to remove the person in the tree, after which construction accelerated, with a large steel panel going up roughly every six minutes.
The Tohono O'odham Nation has said thousands of iconic cacti could be cleared next. A federal judge has temporarily paused border wall construction in and around Big Bend National Park in Texas, but work in Arizona has continued. (GSM, via KJZZ)
发布：GSM·美国（发布链接）
图片来源：图：亚利桑那州河岸地带的棉白杨林（资料图，非事件现场）。照片：美国林业局（U.S. Forest Service），公共领域。A cottonwood riparian grove in Arizona (file photo). Photo: U.S. Forest Service, public domain.
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