Did Trump cut down 250-year-old ‘grandmother’ tree to pave way for border wall?

In October, people shared a story alleging U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration cut down a 250-year-old “grandmother” tree located directly on the southern border in Lochiel, Arizona, to make way for border wall construction.

For example, on Oct. 7, a YouTube account posted a video (archived) captioned, “A giant cottonwood ‘Grandmother Tree’ was torn down in Lochiel, Arizona, to expand Trump’s border wall. Despite activists trying to protect the 250-year-old tree for more than two months, DHS removed the tree as protesters screamed.”

Other users shared the story about the purported 250-year-old “grandmother” tree on Facebook (archived), Instagram (archived) and Reddit (archived). One popular political commentator, Brian Tyler Cohen, claimed (archived) the tree was not just 250 but rather 300 years old — dating back to the early 18th century.

Research of all available data concluded that the Trump administration truly cut down a large, old cottonwood tree — which some people referred to as a “grandmother” tree — directly on the border line. The Department of Homeland Security oversaw crews that reportedly cut down not one, but four old Fremont cottonwood trees on the border in Lochiel, among the many efforts to clear lands for the president’s double border wall construction. The fourth tree appears in the above video.

However, a thorough reading of all the data found the collection of trees, while older than 100, to perhaps be well below 250 years old. A scientist examining a sample of the fourth tree estimated its age at a maximum of 146 years — still a very old tree.

Due to the apparent embellishment of the tree’s age, we’ve rated this claim mostly true.

The Washington Post reported that the trees were located in a 60-foot-wide strip of federal land known as the Roosevelt Reservation. Former President Theodore Roosevelt established the swath of land in 1907 along the southern borders of California, Arizona and New Mexico to combat opium smuggling and enforce immigration policies.

Snopes contacted locals connected with this story to receive more insight. We also emailed Customs and Border Protection to ask questions. The White House declined comment and referred us to CBP.

Building the wall

During Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign, he repeatedly touted strict immigration policies, perhaps most notably promising time and time again that Mexico would pay for a wall to help bring down the number of people crossing into the U.S. over the southern border.

Fast forwarding to Trump’s second term, on July 27, crews reportedly associated with the Arizona-based Fisher Sand & Gravel Co. — receiving billions of dollars in U.S. government funds for border wall construction, including in Lochiel’s Santa Cruz County — cut down three cottonwood trees, as shown in several different videos.

DHS official monitored the situation and reportedly handcuffed at least one person.

A group of activists with concerns about the trees and the local ecosystem then formed a “tree sit” together at the fourth and final tree.

After more than two months of banding together, on Oct. 5, Fisher crews reportedly cut down the fourth tree, once again with DHS officials, some wearing face masks, on guard and making at least a dozen arrests — if not more.

We contacted Fisher to confirm its crews were directly involved with chopping down the four trees, as well as to ask if the company wished to share a statement, and will add that information if it responds.

Estimating the trees’ ages

Our research to find estimates of the trees’ ages located news media outlets citing various figures. For example, a High Country News article identified the collection as “the 100-plus-year-old trees.” An NPR headline, citing Phoenix’s KJZZ, mentioned “250-year-old trees,” while the story itself identified the trees as residing in “a 150- to 200-year-old grove.”

Aside from those reported estimates, at least one scientist visited the site to collect tree samples for further study. Ceci Martinez, a graduate student at the University of Arizona’s Laboratory of Tree-Ring Research, obtained at least two tree samples, the Arizona Republic reported — including one sample from the fourth tree before crews cut it down. For that tree, she estimated the age as “a maximum of 146 years old.”

Asked by the Republic about how important the actual age is when it comes to the threat of being cut down, Martinez applauded the activists who attempted to save the trees. She mentioned that while “tree people are obsessed with how old trees are,” cottonwoods serve “a very different function”:

They’re intended to grow tall, big, provide shade and habitat. They get a lot of attention because, like the jaguar, they are these big important things.

But being old is not what I think of when I think of how important they are. The value for me in these trees isn’t them being ancient or 200 years old. The value is the role they play in the ecosystem. And these cottonwoods do a lot.

Kate Scott, who who cofounded the local Madrean Archipelago Wildlife Center and was one of the activists present during the tree sit, reportedly referenced “the eastern-most cottonwood” — possibly the tree crews felled on Oct. 5 — as “grandmother.” The “grandmother” term for the trees possibly originated from her or was at least popularized by her own conservationist efforts, if not also possibly by locals and indigenous people.

Russ McSpadden, working with the Center for Biological Diversity, credited Scott with “largely” establishing the “grandmother” term as one of “endearment and respect used for the trees.” McSpadden sent a statement to us about the loss of the trees, saying in part, “Where those trees brought life together, the border wall now cuts it apart.”

We also reached out to Scott to request comment and will update this article accordingly.

Agency response

In an email, a Customs and Border Protection spokesperson told us the agency recognized the importance of protecting the environment, wildlife and cultural resources during border wall construction. The statement also highlighted the purported harms of unauthorized border crossings resulting in “substantial amounts of trash, pollution, and damage to natural resources, including sensitive habitats and agriculture.”

That statement read, in part:

U.S. Customs and Border Protection identified four cottonwood trees on federal land in Lochiel, Arizona, that needed removal for planned border wall construction. Preconstruction surveys found no active migratory bird nests, and environmental monitors were present at the start of clearing activities to ensure work was limited to the identified trees. As of Oct. 5, 2026, all four trees have been removed.

In a news release, the Grand Canyon Chapter of the environmental conservation organization the Sierra Club featured alleged video proof from July 26 showing a kingbird actively nesting in one of the three trees that crews cut down the following day. The organization claimed that evidence showed CBP “lied” about being careful to not destroy trees with active nests.

Erick Meza, who works as a border program coordinator for the Sierra Club, told us he recorded the video. He said in the group’s release, in part, “Without any justification, double walls are going up everywhere and they are being built without environmental impact studies, without community consultation, and without regard for the species that depend on these habitats.” He also mentioned arrests of people protesting the border construction work.

For further reading, we previously reported about other claims of the Trump administration chopping down trees for projects happening in Washington, D.C.

Sources