Border wall construction begins at Organ Pipe National Monument

Targeted blasting and bulldozing underway

TUCSON, Ariz. (KYMA, KECY) - Construction crews have started blasting hills at Organ Pipe National Monument to clear space for a new border wall.

The Arizona Daily Star reports crews are bulldozing through Monument Hill to prepare for construction of a 30-foot steel fence. U.S. Customs and Border Protection says targeted blasting will continue intermittently through the end of the month.

Environmental advocates, election officials and Tohono O'odham Nation leaders have raised concerns about the project. They say it will destroy native saguaros, impact migrating animals, and destroy land considered sacred by some Native Americans.