The border as we know it is changing daily as the Trump administration moves forward with its plans for more steel wall. Important wildlife corridors are being severed, creating major challenges for conservation in the years ahead. But at Sky Island Alliance we are resolute in our dedication to protecting our region’s 7,000+ species, bringing people together, and finding creative solutions using science and advocacy.
Below is a set of aerial photos taken on April 14, 2026, by Lighthawk pilot Greg Bedinger. He flew east to west from Bisbee to Nogales to document some of these dramatic changes along our border.
The San Pedro River looking south into Sonora. The river plays a crucial role in the survival and migration of wildlife across the Southwest. More than 250 bird species, 14 fish species, 84 mammal species, and 41 reptile and amphibian species live in the valley.Another view of the San Pedro River, which originates in Sonora, then winds its way into southeastern Arizona. It’s one of the last large, undammed riparian ecosystems in the region. The view southeast at the San José Mountains near Naco, Sonora. A 30-foot-tall steel wall now bisects the landscape. SIA’s Border Wildlife Study has shown that this kind of pedestrian barrier stops 86% of wildlife crossings. Animals rely on these movements to find food, water, shelter, and mates.Looking southwest as the wall approaches a rise in the Huachuca Mountains.Staging for more wall in the Huachuca Mountains near the southern end of the Arizona National Scenic Trail.Looking back, the view southeast into Mexico.San Rafael Valley — all new wall moving west.New wall in the San Rafael Valley. The Trump administration plans to add a second “double wall” along all but 38 miles of Arizona’s 373-mile boundary with Mexico, equipped with stadium lighting, fiber-optic cables, and surveillance cameras.Staging areas for border wall construction crews in the San Rafael Valley. The bulldozed areas are public land and part of the Coronado National Forest. The peaceful San Rafael Valley — looking southeast into Mexico in a section that, as of April 2026, still had vehicle barrier. This type of border allows wildlife to move freely through. Years of remote camera data from Sky Island Alliance’s Border Wildlife Study showed just a few people per month in the valley, including birders, bikers, hikers, hunters, border patrol, and potential migrants. Gray foxes were 10 times more prevalent than human pedestrians.The Santa Cruz River, visible here as a ribbon of green, forms in the San Rafael Valley in Arizona, then flows south into Mexico before looping back north into the U.S. and proceeding to Tucson and beyond.The quiet border town of Lochiel in April 2026 — still with vehicle barriers in place. Three months later, border wall construction crews widened the border road and cut down three of four ancient cottonwood trees to make way for the 30-foot-tall steel walls. Protesters staging a tree-sit have so far delayed the felling of the fourth cottonwood — estimated to be 250 years old and home to a threatened yellow-billed cuckoo.
