Deb Haaland doesn't care about the yellow-billed cuckoo: Tohono O'odham and San Carlos Apache make appeal in letter

 

Yellow-billed cuckoo. Photo National Geographic

Deb Haaland doesn't care about the yellow-billed cuckoo: Tohono O'odham and San Carlos Apache make appeal in letter

By Brenda Norrell, Censored News, July 9, 2024

SAN PEDRO VALLEY, Arizona -- Deb Haaland doesn't care about the yellow-billed cuckoo. She doesn't care about the migratory birds traveling north who enjoy the water and trees here. Haaland doesn't care that the bulldozers for SunZia's transmission line, taking wind energy to California, are destroying an ancient village site of the ancestors of San Xavier O'odham.

The federal court failed to stop her, so Tohono O'odham and San Carlos Apache Nations appealed to Haaland, Laguna Pueblo, in a letter on Monday.

With helicopters buzzing overhead, the wind energy project that Haaland is cheerleading for, which would benefit her home state of New Mexico, is detrimental for nesting migratory birds, and an irreplaceable ancient village site of the Sobaipuri O'odham.

Since the federal court in Tucson failed to slap Haaland with a restraining order as sought after, the tribes appealed to Haaland, head of the Interior Department, in a letter on Monday.

"First, we are alarmed that archaeological excavations at a rare and fragile Sobaipuri ancestral village are proceeding in violation of agreements for SunZia's contractors to use Western and Indigenous knowledge and science to guide balanced decision making."

The Tohono O'odham Nation tried to help the Bureau of Land Management and SunZia understand the significance  and sensitivity of the site, but excavations have continued in a disrespectful, improper, and harmful manner by ignoring critical information and agreed-upon monitors from the Nation, the letter states.

Sobaipuri O'odham, ancestors of San Xavier O'odham,
 lived in the San Pedro Valley, southeast of Tucson.

"BLM archaeologist Jane Childress shut down those efforts claiming BLM can simply disagree with Western and Indigenous knowledge and science without regard for the damage and desecration that results."

Second, the Cascabel Conservation Association asked BLM and Pattern Energy to suspend construction of the Project during the bird breeding season in the San  Pedro Valley.

The construction was supposed to be halted in the riparian woodlands from March through late September to protect the yellow-billed cuckoos and southwestern willow flycatchers, and to avoid disturbing the nests of migratory birds generally. This is stated in the environmental impact statement and planning documents, the letter states.

"Dozens of low-elevation helicopter flights associated with the Project daily traverse  riparian canyons and nesting areas since March 1," the tribes said, calling it a "reckless disregard for essential protections."

Photo Robin Silver, Center for Biological Diversity
The San Pedro River Valley is an oasis for migrating birds between the Sonoran Desert to the west, and rocky dry canyonlands to the east in southern Arizona. O'odham made their home here, as did their ancestors Hohokam before them. Now, SunZia's bulldozers are destroying the village sites and irreplaceable traces of O'odham history and culture. Helicopters buzzing overhead frighten away the yellow-billed cuckoo, who sings before the rains come.

Tohono O'odham and San Carlos Apache close their letter with the hope that Haaland will restore their confidence in the Interior and its commitment to steward sacred lands.

"We expect you will direct BLM and Fish and Wildlife Service to prioritize their public and Tribal trust responsibilities in their oversight of the Project and ensure that SunZia abides by its commitments to mitigate and avoid these harms."

"We also look forward to a response that restores our confidence in the Department of the Interior's commitments to stewarding these sacred lands for the benefit of our communities."