Witness for Wild Places: Being Rewilded by the Earth

By: Jeanne Marie Mudd

September 4, 2026

This past week, the desert monsoon skies held towering clouds, dark with rain and lit with shafts of sunlight. My old jeep was creaking along the dirt road from Patagonia to Lochiel in southern Arizona’s San Rafael Valley when I saw six Border Patrol vehicles massing around a spur road. They were soon behind me, pushing for me to speed up on the dirt road that led into the San Rafael Valley. I didn’t speed up. They passed by at the first opportunity and sped down the road.

I knew in my gut that a confrontation was about to occur. I was making my way to Tierra Libre to bring a simple contribution of food and support and to listen to the stories of the protectors of Abuelita Cottonwood Tree. The great, old Grandmother tree was the last of her sisters standing in the way of the U.S. government’s rush to build a 27-mile section of steel bollard wall. This wall would run through a corridor where jaguars, ocelots, cougars, black bears, and a multitude of other animals have long moved freely. This Fremont Cottonwood tree, a living legacy and a spiritual bridge between the Earth and the sacred, now hosts treesitters high in her branches. Other protectors surround the tree, bearing witness to the impending destruction of this land and corridor.

Earlier in the week, a group gathered to hear the Protectors’ stories. The number of people gathering has begun to increase. Calls of support for the Protectors are rising. The day before our gathering, Julia Butterfly Hill called to encourage the people there on the ground. She shared her story, including waves of pressure intended to discourage her from her Redwood treesit. Her call came just in time, as increased pressure from Border Patrol was imminent.

When I arrived at the Grandmother Tree site, I saw a helicopter circling the camp, and the flashing lights from numerous Border Patrol vehicles that had passed me on the road confirmed the situation. The Protectors were told to clear the easement and the road, or risk ticketing and arrest. The treesitters were told to come down from Grandmother. The Protectors’ nonviolent response was to step aside while continuing to support their treesitters.

After my arrival, the Border Patrol left, and all was silent except for the singing birds, the rustle of Cottonwood leaves in the breeze, and the summer cicadas, who sang to endure the heat. Under a shade cloth, the Protectors gathered to share what they had experienced. I stood aside as they spoke, giving them quiet space to calm and clear their minds, hearts, and bodies. Later, several people greeted me and welcomed me to this place. This San Rafael Valley will rewild us as we join in protecting this last of our desert wilderness.

Everyone who gathered agreed that this increased pressure shows the effort to protect this precious ecosystem is working, as this witness shows, and that it may be wise to pause a moment to gain strength as they move this witness for the land forward. The planned border wall construction is the biggest obstruction to an essential wildlife corridor on this continent. The San Rafael Valley is a critical corridor for wildlife traveling north and south. This area is as precious as Big Bend National Park.

Join the effort to protect this place. When we speak up, our government will listen and stop this unnecessary destruction. More of us need to join the Protectors, be ready for the call, speak up, and join them in this wild place that will be further harmed if we don’t show up.

All photos by Jeanne Marie Mudd. For more on this treesit, listen to the Rewilding Earth Podcast Episode 180: Activists Take to the Canopy to Defend Centuries-old Cottonwood, Cats, and Connectivity.