In the wake of a personal loss and a several-week hiatus, our host Chris wonders about the future of the podcast and whether it's doing what we need it to do to get to the people who need to hear it. Listeners are encouraged to take a few easy and free (or cheap) steps to help spread the word of 90 Miles from Needles, including posting reviews on Apple, Spotify, or our website; boosting us on social media, and so many other possible ways to help.

A full episode will come your way on 6/19!

In the wake of a personal loss and a several-week hiatus, our host Chris wonders about the future of the podcast and whether it's doing what we need it to do to get to the people who need to hear it. Listeners are encouraged to take a few easy and free (or cheap) steps to help spread the word of 90 Miles from Needles, including posting reviews on Apple, Spotify, or our website; boosting us on social media, and so many other possible ways to help.
A full episode will come your way on 6/19!

It's not a real desert hike unless you get thirsty. Unless your skin gets punctured by an innocent-looking plant. Unless you have a close encounter with a nervous venomous critter. The desert is alive, and it will defend itself. And we will help. 90 Miles From Needles brings you stories from far out in the American outback: a land unlike any other that is both intense and subtle, that has endured for eons in the harshest conditions imaginable but which could go away in a heartbeat if we act the wrong way. Science, politics, hiking and history, culture and creativity all go into defending the desert. Be forewarned: We are out to recruit you to the cause.

It's not a real desert hike unless you get thirsty. Unless your skin gets punctured by an innocent-looking plant. Unless you have a close encounter with a nervous venomous critter. The desert is alive, and it will defend itself. And we will help. 90 Miles From Needles brings you stories from far out in the American outback: a land unlike any other that is both intense and subtle, that has endured for eons in the harshest conditions imaginable but which could go away in a heartbeat if we act the wrong way. Science, politics, hiking and history, culture and creativity all go into defending the desert. Be forewarned: We are out to recruit you to the cause.

90 Miles from Needles Member feed

Join Chris Clarke and a variety of guests as they explore the challenges and opportunities of the American Southwest's fragile ecosystems. Engaging interviews with experts, activists, and advocates on conservation, land management, and environmental justice. Science and sentiment, politics and philosophy, hiking and history, culture and creativity all go into defending the desert. Be forewarned: We are out to recruit you to the cause.

Join Chris Clarke and a variety of guests as they explore the challenges and opportunities of the American Southwest's fragile ecosystems. Engaging interviews with experts, activists, and advocates on conservation, land management, and environmental justice. Science and sentiment, politics and philosophy, hiking and history, culture and creativity all go into defending the desert. Be forewarned: We are out to recruit you to the cause.

Vital info on protecting our irrepaceable deserts

90 Miles from Needles: the Desert Protection Podcast

90 Miles from Needles is a podcast about the environment, landscapes, and people of the American deserts—the Mojave, Sonoran, Chihuahuan, Great Basin and beyond. Host Chris Clarke explores desert ecology, wildlife, public lands, history, culture, road trips, conservation and the people working to protect these landscapes.

90 Miles from Needles is a podcast about the environment, landscapes, and people of the American deserts&mdash;the Mojave, Sonoran, Chihuahuan, Great Basin and beyond. Host Chris Clarke explores desert ecology, wildlife, public lands, history, culture, road trips, conservation and the people working to protect these landscapes.

After a personal loss and production hiatus, Chris speaks candidly about the podcast’s reach and asks listeners to help by reviewing, recommending and sharing the show so desert reporting can find the people who need it.

S5E17: The Desert Needs Our Voice and We Need Your Help

We think of range maps as static representations of where plants and animals belong. It doesn't often occur to us that maps are just snapshots of a constantly changing world. In the Mojave Desert, two sister species of desert ground squirrel coexist nearly side by side. A field guide's range maps will tell you where those species live right now. But those maps also convey hints out of Deep Time, and those hints can explain not only why the squirrels live where they do, but also how the two species evolved in their own directions.

Host Chris Clarke shares the story of those sister species: the Mohave and Round-tailed ground squirrels. One is doing well and is abundant. The other has been designated as a threatened species. Each of them is a library of history... if we know how to read them.

Chris also announces the launch of our Fellowship for Desert Reporting: prospective Fellows can start by filling out the application form at https://thedamn.org/fellowship-application.

Resources 

Mohave ground squirrels
California Department of Fish and Wildlife: Mohave Ground Squirrel
Species overview, conservation status, recordings and access to the state conservation strategy.
CDFW Mohave Ground Squirrel
Philip Leitner, “Current Status of the Mohave Ground Squirrel: An Update Covering the Period 2013–2020”
Reviews the animal’s current distribution, apparent losses from portions of its historical range and continuing conservation concerns.
Status update PDF
Mohave Ground Squirrel Technical Advisory Group
CDFW’s archive of technical documents and meeting materials from researchers, agencies and other specialists.
Technical Advisory Group
Mohave Ground Squirrel Conservation Council: Publications
A bibliography covering the species’ taxonomy, ecology, genetics, distribution and conservation.
Publications list

Separation, contact and hybridization
Kayce C. Bell and Marjorie D. Matocq, “Regional Genetic Subdivision in the Mohave Ground Squirrel: Evidence of Historic Isolation and Ongoing Connectivity in a Mojave Desert Endemic”
Animal Conservation 14 (2011): 371–381. Examines genetic structure and historical isolation within Mohave ground squirrel populations.
Article and abstract
Philip Leitner, Jennifer S. Rippert and Marjorie D. Matocq, “Genetic Structure Across a Contact Zone Between Xerospermophilus Ground Squirrels in Southern California”
Western North American Naturalist 77 (2017): 152–161. Documents both species and genetically admixed animals near Hinkley. It also reports expansion across the former barrier of no more than approximately 30 kilometers—an average of no more than five meters per year.
Full article
“Distribution and Genetic Status of Xerospermophilus Ground Squirrels in the Barstow Region”
Includes useful maps of trapping records and genetically identified Mohave, round-tailed and hybrid or backcrossed animals around Barstow and Hinkley.
CDFW-hosted report

Mojave River and vanished lakes
Marith C. Reheis et al., “Geomorphic History of Lake Manix, Mojave Desert, California: Evolution of a Complex Terminal Lake Basin”
Geomorphology 392 (2021). A detailed modern synthesis of the lake basin’s development, changing river routes, tectonics and climate history.
USGS publication page
USGS: Surficial Geology and Stratigraphy of Pleistocene Lake Manix
Detailed geologic mapping of Lake Manix, its component basins and the deposits exposed by the Mojave River and Afton Canyon.
USGS Lake Manix map and report
Marith Reheis and Joanna Redwine, “Lake Manix Shorelines and Afton Canyon Terraces: Implications for Incision of Afton Canyon”
Discusses the overflow of Lake Manix and relatively rapid initial incision of Afton Canyon at approximately 25,000 calibrated years ago.
USGS publication record
USGS: Mojave River and Associated Lakes
An accessible introduction to the Mojave River, Lake Manix, Lake Mojave and the modern Soda and Silver Lake playas.
Mojave River and Associated Lakes

Range maps and Joshua trees
USGS: High-resolution distribution maps for western and eastern Joshua trees
Describes empirical and modeled range maps for Yucca brevifolia and Yucca jaegeriana across four states.
USGS Joshua tree distribution study
Smith et al., “Genome-Scale Data Resolves the Timing of Divergence in Joshua Trees”
American Journal of Botany 108 (2021). Estimates that the two Joshua tree species diverged approximately 100,000–200,000 years ago.
Journal article

We think of range maps as static representations of where plants and animals belong. It doesn't often occur to us that maps are just snapshots of a constantly changing world. In the Mojave Desert, two sister species of desert ground squirrel coexist nearly side by side. A field guide's range maps will tell you where those species live right now. But those maps also convey hints out of Deep Time, and those hints can explain not only why the squirrels live where they do, but also how the two species evolved in their own directions.
Host Chris Clarke shares the story of those sister species: the Mohave and Round-tailed ground squirrels. One is doing well and is abundant. The other has been designated as a threatened species. Each of them is a library of history... if we know how to read them.
Chris also announces the launch of our Fellowship for Desert Reporting: prospective Fellows can start by filling out the application form at <a href="https://thedamn.org/fellowship-application">https://thedamn.org/fellowship-application</a>.
Resources&nbsp;
Mohave ground squirrels
<ul data-start="2041" data-end="3187">
<li data-section-id="14s7lq8" data-start="2041" data-end="2317">California Department of Fish and Wildlife: Mohave Ground Squirrel Species overview, conservation status, recordings and access to the state conservation strategy. <a href="https://wildlife.ca.gov/Conservation/Mammals/Mohave-Ground-Squirrel?utm_source=chatgpt.com" data-start="2219" data-end="2317">CDFW Mohave Ground Squirrel</a></li>
<li data-section-id="1705d8m" data-start="2319" data-end="2658">Philip Leitner, &ldquo;Current Status of the Mohave Ground Squirrel: An Update Covering the Period 2013&ndash;2020&rdquo; Reviews the animal&rsquo;s current distribution, apparent losses from portions of its historical range and continuing conservation concerns. <a href="https://nrm.dfg.ca.gov/FileHandler.ashx?DocumentID=193411&amp;inline&amp;utm_source=chatgpt.com" data-start="2572" data-end="2658">Status update PDF</a></li>
<li data-section-id="11ou8n4" data-start="2660" data-end="2953">Mohave Ground Squirrel Technical Advisory Group CDFW&rsquo;s archive of technical documents and meeting materials from researchers, agencies and other specialists. <a href="https://wildlife.ca.gov/Conservation/Mammals/Mohave-Ground-Squirrel/TAG/ArticlePage/1/tag/tag?utm_source=chatgpt.com" data-start="2832" data-end="2953">Technical Advisory Group</a></li>
<li data-section-id="1pamcgl" data-start="2955" data-end="3187">Mohave Ground Squirrel Conservation Council: Publications A bibliography covering the species&rsquo; taxonomy, ecology, genetics, distribution and conservation. <a href="https://mgsconservation.org/publications-1?utm_source=chatgpt.com" data-start="3124" data-end="3187">Publications list</a></li>
</ul>
Separation, contact and hybridization
<ul data-start="3232" data-end="4536">
<li data-section-id="1yalien" data-start="3232" data-end="3678">Kayce C. Bell and Marjorie D. Matocq, &ldquo;Regional Genetic Subdivision in the Mohave Ground Squirrel: Evidence of Historic Isolation and Ongoing Connectivity in a Mojave Desert Endemic&rdquo; Animal Conservation 14 (2011): 371&ndash;381. Examines genetic structure and historical isolation within Mohave ground squirrel populations. <a href="https://zslpublications.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1469-1795.2011.00435.x?utm_source=chatgpt.com" data-start="3566" data-end="3678">Article and abstract</a></li>
<li data-section-id="16mliq2" data-start="3680" data-end="4197">Philip Leitner, Jennifer S. Rippert and Marjorie D. Matocq, &ldquo;Genetic Structure Across a Contact Zone Between Xerospermophilus Ground Squirrels in Southern California&rdquo; Western North American Naturalist 77 (2017): 152&ndash;161. Documents both species and genetically admixed animals near Hinkley. It also reports expansion across the former barrier of no more than approximately 30 kilometers&mdash;an average of no more than five meters per year. <a href="https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/wnan/vol77/iss2/2/?utm_source=chatgpt.com" data-start="4131" data-end="4197">Full article</a></li>
<li data-section-id="9w4paw" data-start="4199" data-end="4536">&ldquo;Distribution and Genetic Status of Xerospermophilus Ground Squirrels in the Barstow Region&rdquo; Includes useful maps of trapping records and genetically identified Mohave, round-tailed and hybrid or backcrossed animals around Barstow and Hinkley. <a href="https://nrm.dfg.ca.gov/FileHandler.ashx?DocumentID=140013&amp;utm_source=chatgpt.com" data-start="4457" data-end="4536">CDFW-hosted report</a></li>
</ul>
Mojave River and vanished lakes
<ul data-start="4575" data-end="5955">
<li data-section-id="1i9yjlj" data-start="4575" data-end="5005">Marith C. Reheis et al., &ldquo;Geomorphic History of Lake Manix, Mojave Desert, California: Evolution of a Complex Terminal Lake Basin&rdquo; Geomorphology 392 (2021). A detailed modern synthesis of the lake basin&rsquo;s development, changing river routes, tectonics and climate history. <a href="https://www.usgs.gov/publications/geomorphic-history-lake-manix-mojave-desert-california-evolution-a-complex-terminal?utm_source=chatgpt.com" data-start="4863" data-end="5005">USGS publication page</a></li>
<li data-section-id="1w0fqs6" data-start="5007" data-end="5278">USGS: Surficial Geology and Stratigraphy of Pleistocene Lake Manix Detailed geologic mapping of Lake Manix, its component basins and the deposits exposed by the Mojave River and Afton Canyon. <a href="https://pubs.usgs.gov/sim/3312/?utm_source=chatgpt.com" data-start="5213" data-end="5278">USGS Lake Manix map and report</a></li>
<li data-section-id="enq7ml" data-start="5280" data-end="5701">Marith Reheis and Joanna Redwine, &ldquo;Lake Manix Shorelines and Afton Canyon Terraces: Implications for Incision of Afton Canyon&rdquo; Discusses the overflow of Lake Manix and relatively rapid initial incision of Afton Canyon at approximately 25,000 calibrated years ago. <a href="https://www.usgs.gov/publications/lake-manix-shorelines-and-afton-canyon-terraces-implications-incision-afton-canyon?utm_source=chatgpt.com" data-start="5558" data-end="5701">USGS publication record</a></li>
<li data-section-id="uxxn33" data-start="5703" data-end="5955">USGS: Mojave River and Associated Lakes An accessible introduction to the Mojave River, Lake Manix, Lake Mojave and the modern Soda and Silver Lake playas. <a href="https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2004/1007/river.html?utm_source=chatgpt.com" data-start="5873" data-end="5955">Mojave River and Associated Lakes</a></li>
</ul>
Range maps and Joshua trees
<ul data-start="5990" data-end="6662" data-is-only-node="" data-is-last-node="">
<li data-section-id="ptczdb" data-start="5990" data-end="6348">USGS: High-resolution distribution maps for western and eastern Joshua trees Describes empirical and modeled range maps for Yucca brevifolia and Yucca jaegeriana across four states. <a href="https://www.usgs.gov/publications/unprecedented-distribution-data-joshua-trees-yucca-brevifolia-and-y-jaegeriana-reveal?utm_source=chatgpt.com" data-start="6190" data-end="6348">USGS Joshua tree distribution study</a></li>
<li data-section-id="lgp9az" data-start="6350" data-end="6662" data-is-last-node="">Smith et al., &ldquo;Genome-Scale Data Resolves the Timing of Divergence in Joshua Trees&rdquo; American Journal of Botany 108 (2021). Estimates that the two Joshua tree species diverged approximately 100,000&ndash;200,000 years ago. <a href="https://bsapubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ajb2.1633?utm_source=chatgpt.com" data-start="6582" data-end="6662" data-is-last-node="">Journal article</a></li>
</ul>

The boundary between two ground-squirrel species preserves the memory of a wetter Mojave,and a barrier that disappeared thousands of years ago.

S5E26: Maps, Vanished Lakes, and Two Desert Squirrels

The vaquita is the world’s smallest and most endangered cetacean, but the handful still living in Mexico’s Upper Gulf of California may be more resilient than recent headlines suggest.

In 2025, researchers concluded that there was a 67 percent probability that seven to ten distinct vaquitas had been observed in the study area. That was a count of animals seen, not an estimate of the species’ total remaining population. Researchers also found evidence that vaquitas are continuing to reproduce.

Dr. Lorenzo Rojas-Bracho, one of the world’s leading vaquita experts and chair of the International Committee for the Recovery of the Vaquita, joins Chris Clarke to explain why the species is not necessarily doomed by its small population. Surviving vaquitas appear healthy, continue to produce calves, and retain the genetic capacity to recover—if people stop killing them in gillnets.

The vaquita is also a desert porpoise. Its only habitat lies in a marine ecosystem made exceptionally productive by its desert setting. Evaporation, concentrated saltwater, tides, wind, and upwelling continually move nutrients through the Upper Gulf. Although the loss of Colorado River flow has profoundly changed the delta and harmed some species, Rojas-Bracho says there is no evidence that food scarcity or habitat degradation is driving the vaquita’s decline.

The principal threat is bycatch in gillnets used for shrimp, fish, sharks, and especially totoaba. Totoaba swim bladders command extraordinary prices in an illegal international market, bringing organized crime into a conservation problem already complicated by government resistance and the legitimate needs of fishing communities.

Saving the vaquita requires eliminating gillnet deaths while developing fishing gear and markets that allow Upper Gulf communities to make a living without driving another species to extinction.

About the Guest

Dr. Lorenzo Rojas-Bracho has studied the vaquita for decades and helped establish the International Committee for the Recovery of the Vaquita, known as CIRVA, which he has chaired since its creation. His research has addressed vaquita abundance, bycatch, genetics, habitat, fisheries policy, and the species’ prospects for recovery. He is affiliated with the National Marine Mammal Foundation and has worked extensively with Mexican and international scientists, conservation organizations, fishing communities, and government agencies.

Quotable Moments

“Vaquitas are strong animals. If you stop killing them, they will recover. It’s amazing how resilient they are.”

“I would be satisfied if I see the population trend being positive, or at least not declining. I can die peacefully if I see that.”

“We cannot be stupidly optimistic, but we are optimistic because the data shows that we can be optimistic.”

“I don’t want Mexico to be the country that loses the vaquita.”

“Don’t give up. That’s the worst thing.”

In This Episode
Why seven to ten vaquitas observed does not mean only seven to ten exist
How the vaquita became adapted to natural rarity
Why genetic evidence shows that inbreeding does not necessarily doom the species
How a desert evaporation basin creates an exceptionally productive marine ecosystem
What ending Colorado River flow has—and has not—done to vaquita habitat
How fisheries authorities used habitat degradation to deflect attention from bycatch
Why totoaba gillnets are particularly deadly
How the illegal swim-bladder trade brought organized crime into the Upper Gulf
Why protecting vaquitas cannot mean abandoning fishing communities
The need for effective vaquita-safe fishing gear and better markets for safely caught seafood
What listeners can do to help

Resources
Viva Vaquita — Background on the species, its habitat, the totoaba trade, conservation work, and current developments.
Act Now for the Vaquita — Suggested actions include writing Mexican officials, supporting conservation work, making sustainable seafood choices, and avoiding shrimp and fish caught with gillnets.
2025 Vaquita Research Campaign report — The complete acoustic and visual survey report, including the seven-to-ten observation range, its statistical limitations, and evidence of continued reproduction.
IUCN Cetacean Specialist Group: Vaquita — Scientific background, distribution, conservation status, and updates from cetacean specialists.
CIRVA reports and archive — Reports from the International Committee for the Recovery of the Vaquita, including recommendations on eliminating gillnet mortality and developing viable fishing alternatives.
The critically endangered vaquita is not doomed to extinction by inbreeding depression — The 2022 genomic study discussed in the episode. Researchers concluded that the vaquita’s longstanding natural rarity has reduced its burden of damaging genetic variation and that recovery remains possible if bycatch stops.
Mexico must save the vaquita from gill nets — A 2024 Science commentary coauthored by Rojas-Bracho and other vaquita researchers.
Bycatch in gillnet fisheries threatens Critically Endangered small cetaceans and other aquatic megafauna — A study coauthored by Rojas-Bracho placing the vaquita crisis within the worldwide threat that gillnets pose to small cetaceans and other marine animals.

Take Action

Visit Viva Vaquita’s action page for sample letters to Mexican officials and other ways to help. Seafood buyers can also ask where shrimp and fish were caught and whether gillnets were used. Public attention matters: it gives officials who want to protect the vaquita political support to act and makes continued inaction harder to ignore.

The vaquita’s situation is desperate, but extinction is not yet inevitable. The animals are still feeding, reproducing, and surviving. The remaining question is whether people will give them the opportunity to recover.

The vaquita is the world&rsquo;s smallest and most endangered cetacean, but the handful still living in Mexico&rsquo;s Upper Gulf of California may be more resilient than recent headlines suggest.
In 2025, researchers concluded that there was a 67 percent probability that seven to ten distinct vaquitas had been observed in the study area. That was a count of animals seen, not an estimate of the species&rsquo; total remaining population. Researchers also found evidence that vaquitas are continuing to reproduce.
Dr. Lorenzo Rojas-Bracho, one of the world&rsquo;s leading vaquita experts and chair of the International Committee for the Recovery of the Vaquita, joins Chris Clarke to explain why the species is not necessarily doomed by its small population. Surviving vaquitas appear healthy, continue to produce calves, and retain the genetic capacity to recover&mdash;if people stop killing them in gillnets.
The vaquita is also a desert porpoise. Its only habitat lies in a marine ecosystem made exceptionally productive by its desert setting. Evaporation, concentrated saltwater, tides, wind, and upwelling continually move nutrients through the Upper Gulf. Although the loss of Colorado River flow has profoundly changed the delta and harmed some species, Rojas-Bracho says there is no evidence that food scarcity or habitat degradation is driving the vaquita&rsquo;s decline.
The principal threat is bycatch in gillnets used for shrimp, fish, sharks, and especially totoaba. Totoaba swim bladders command extraordinary prices in an illegal international market, bringing organized crime into a conservation problem already complicated by government resistance and the legitimate needs of fishing communities.
Saving the vaquita requires eliminating gillnet deaths while developing fishing gear and markets that allow Upper Gulf communities to make a living without driving another species to extinction.
About the Guest
Dr. Lorenzo Rojas-Bracho has studied the vaquita for decades and helped establish the International Committee for the Recovery of the Vaquita, known as CIRVA, which he has chaired since its creation. His research has addressed vaquita abundance, bycatch, genetics, habitat, fisheries policy, and the species&rsquo; prospects for recovery. He is affiliated with the National Marine Mammal Foundation and has worked extensively with Mexican and international scientists, conservation organizations, fishing communities, and government agencies.
Quotable Moments
<blockquote>
&ldquo;Vaquitas are strong animals. If you stop killing them, they will recover. It&rsquo;s amazing how resilient they are.&rdquo;
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
&ldquo;I would be satisfied if I see the population trend being positive, or at least not declining. I can die peacefully if I see that.&rdquo;
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
&ldquo;We cannot be stupidly optimistic, but we are optimistic because the data shows that we can be optimistic.&rdquo;
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t want Mexico to be the country that loses the vaquita.&rdquo;
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
&ldquo;Don&rsquo;t give up. That&rsquo;s the worst thing.&rdquo;
</blockquote>
In This Episode
<ul data-spread="false">
<li>Why seven to ten vaquitas observed does not mean only seven to ten exist</li>
<li>How the vaquita became adapted to natural rarity</li>
<li>Why genetic evidence shows that inbreeding does not necessarily doom the species</li>
<li>How a desert evaporation basin creates an exceptionally productive marine ecosystem</li>
<li>What ending Colorado River flow has&mdash;and has not&mdash;done to vaquita habitat</li>
<li>How fisheries authorities used habitat degradation to deflect attention from bycatch</li>
<li>Why totoaba gillnets are particularly deadly</li>
<li>How the illegal swim-bladder trade brought organized crime into the Upper Gulf</li>
<li>Why protecting vaquitas cannot mean abandoning fishing communities</li>
<li>The need for effective vaquita-safe fishing gear and better markets for safely caught seafood</li>
<li>What listeners can do to help</li>
</ul>
Resources
<ul data-spread="true">
<li><a href="https://vivavaquita.org/">Viva Vaquita</a> &mdash; Background on the species, its habitat, the totoaba trade, conservation work, and current developments.</li>
<li><a href="https://vivavaquita.org/act-now/">Act Now for the Vaquita</a> &mdash; Suggested actions include writing Mexican officials, supporting conservation work, making sustainable seafood choices, and avoiding shrimp and fish caught with gillnets.</li>
<li><a href="https://iucn-csg.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/Report-vaquita-acoustic-and-visual-survey-2025-EN-Nov-11-clean-FINAL.pdf">2025 Vaquita Research Campaign report</a> &mdash; The complete acoustic and visual survey report, including the seven-to-ten observation range, its statistical limitations, and evidence of continued reproduction.</li>
<li><a href="https://iucn-csg.org/vaquita/">IUCN Cetacean Specialist Group: Vaquita</a> &mdash; Scientific background, distribution, conservation status, and updates from cetacean specialists.</li>
<li><a href="https://iucn-csg.org/cirva-archive/">CIRVA reports and archive</a> &mdash; Reports from the International Committee for the Recovery of the Vaquita, including recommendations on eliminating gillnet mortality and developing viable fishing alternatives.</li>
<li><a href="https://escholarship.org/uc/item/31n8z5h6">The critically endangered vaquita is not doomed to extinction by inbreeding depression</a> &mdash; The 2022 genomic study discussed in the episode. Researchers concluded that the vaquita&rsquo;s longstanding natural rarity has reduced its burden of damaging genetic variation and that recovery remains possible if bycatch stops.</li>
<li><a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/39088607/">Mexico must save the vaquita from gill nets</a> &mdash; A 2024 Science commentary coauthored by Rojas-Bracho and other vaquita researchers.</li>
<li><a href="https://www.int-res.com/abstracts/esr/v40/esr00994">Bycatch in gillnet fisheries threatens Critically Endangered small cetaceans and other aquatic megafauna</a> &mdash; A study coauthored by Rojas-Bracho placing the vaquita crisis within the worldwide threat that gillnets pose to small cetaceans and other marine animals.</li>
</ul>
Take Action
Visit <a href="https://vivavaquita.org/act-now/">Viva Vaquita&rsquo;s action page</a> for sample letters to Mexican officials and other ways to help. Seafood buyers can also ask where shrimp and fish were caught and whether gillnets were used. Public attention matters: it gives officials who want to protect the vaquita political support to act and makes continued inaction harder to ignore.
The vaquita&rsquo;s situation is desperate, but extinction is not yet inevitable. The animals are still feeding, reproducing, and surviving. The remaining question is whether people will give them the opportunity to recover.

Only a handful of vaquitas have recently been observed, but the species doesn't have to be doomed. Lorenzo Rojas-Bracho explains why these desert porpoises remain capable of recovery, and what must change to keep them alive.

S5E25: The Vaquita Can Still Recover

Marker 01

Border-wall contractors have destroyed three ancient Fremont cottonwoods in Lochiel, Arizona. Estimated to have been 200 to 250 years old, the trees stood in the path of two proposed 30-foot walls through the San Rafael Valley.

One landmark cottonwood remains. Activists have occupied it in what may be the first tree sit organized against border-wall construction.

Kate Scott joins Chris Clarke from the Casita de la Esperanza, the activists’ base at the former Lochiel port of entry. She describes the loss of the cottonwoods, the wildlife that depended upon them, and the apparent absence of meaningful environmental monitoring as the trees came down. She also explains why organizers are demanding protection for the surviving tree and an end to plans for a secondary wall through the community.

The fight is about more than one cottonwood. The tree represents the ecological richness, cultural history and cross-border relationships threatened by wall construction throughout the Arizona–Sonora borderlands.

Key Takeaways
Contractors destroyed three of Lochiel’s four landmark cottonwoods to make way for border-wall construction.
Activists are maintaining a tree sit in the remaining cottonwood and demanding that it be spared.
Organizers also want the proposed secondary wall through Lochiel abandoned.
The cottonwoods provided habitat for barn owls, flickers, kingbirds, insects and other wildlife. Scott also reports hearing a threatened yellow-billed cuckoo.
Scott says Customs and Border Protection had promised protections for active bird nests, but activists saw no meaningful environmental monitoring during the tree removal.
Organizers are combining direct action with art, music, ceremony and public gatherings.
Wall construction threatens wildlife movement, a historic border community, neighboring ranchland in Sonora and potentially significant archaeological resources.

Notable Quotes

“We do not want a double wall through this historic community.”

“Each one is unique—a universe in and of itself.”

“This is not a crossing point. This is a wildlife migratory corridor.”

“We’re not taking this anymore. We’re making our stand here.”

“Don’t obey in advance.”

About Kate Scott

Kate Scott is a southern Arizona organizer and a co-founder of the Madrean Archipelago Wildlife Center. Her work includes community organizing and direct action to protect the San Rafael Valley and the wildlife, cultural resources and cross-border relationships threatened by border-wall construction.

Resources
Rally for the Valley on Instagram
Support the Lochiel tree sit and campaign
The Guardian: Protesters occupy a 200-year-old border cottonwood

Episode image modified from a photograph by the Center for Biological Diversity.

Border-wall contractors have destroyed three ancient Fremont cottonwoods in Lochiel, Arizona. Estimated to have been 200 to 250 years old, the trees stood in the path of two proposed 30-foot walls through the San Rafael Valley.
One landmark cottonwood remains. Activists have occupied it in what may be the first tree sit organized against border-wall construction.
Kate Scott joins Chris Clarke from the Casita de la Esperanza, the activists&rsquo; base at the former Lochiel port of entry. She describes the loss of the cottonwoods, the wildlife that depended upon them, and the apparent absence of meaningful environmental monitoring as the trees came down. She also explains why organizers are demanding protection for the surviving tree and an end to plans for a secondary wall through the community.
The fight is about more than one cottonwood. The tree represents the ecological richness, cultural history and cross-border relationships threatened by wall construction throughout the Arizona&ndash;Sonora borderlands.
Key Takeaways
<ul data-spread="false">
<li>Contractors destroyed three of Lochiel&rsquo;s four landmark cottonwoods to make way for border-wall construction.</li>
<li>Activists are maintaining a tree sit in the remaining cottonwood and demanding that it be spared.</li>
<li>Organizers also want the proposed secondary wall through Lochiel abandoned.</li>
<li>The cottonwoods provided habitat for barn owls, flickers, kingbirds, insects and other wildlife. Scott also reports hearing a threatened yellow-billed cuckoo.</li>
<li>Scott says Customs and Border Protection had promised protections for active bird nests, but activists saw no meaningful environmental monitoring during the tree removal.</li>
<li>Organizers are combining direct action with art, music, ceremony and public gatherings.</li>
<li>Wall construction threatens wildlife movement, a historic border community, neighboring ranchland in Sonora and potentially significant archaeological resources.</li>
</ul>
Notable Quotes
<blockquote>
&ldquo;We do not want a double wall through this historic community.&rdquo;
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
&ldquo;Each one is unique&mdash;a universe in and of itself.&rdquo;
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
&ldquo;This is not a crossing point. This is a wildlife migratory corridor.&rdquo;
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
&ldquo;We&rsquo;re not taking this anymore. We&rsquo;re making our stand here.&rdquo;
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
&ldquo;Don&rsquo;t obey in advance.&rdquo;
</blockquote>
About Kate Scott
Kate Scott is a southern Arizona organizer and a co-founder of the Madrean Archipelago Wildlife Center. Her work includes community organizing and direct action to protect the San Rafael Valley and the wildlife, cultural resources and cross-border relationships threatened by border-wall construction.
Resources
<ul data-spread="false">
<li><a href="https://www.instagram.com/rallyforthevalley/">Rally for the Valley on Instagram</a></li>
<li><a href="https://givebutter.com/stop-destruction-in-lochiel-oxsxdp">Support the Lochiel tree sit and campaign</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/aug/04/protesters-occupy-tree-us-mexico-border">The Guardian: Protesters occupy a 200-year-old border cottonwood</a></li>
</ul>
Episode image modified from a photograph by the Center for Biological Diversity.

Kate Scott reports from a tree sit in Lochiel, where activists occupied the last of four landmark cottonwoods after contractors destroyed the others for double-wall construction through the San Rafael Valley.

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