"The BLM and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service said no Mexican spotted owls lived near a proposed mine site in Arizona’s Sky Islands when it permitted mineral exploration. Photo evidence shows otherwise."
"When the Bureau of Land Management approved mineral exploration for a proposed copper mine in southern Arizona last June, it concluded that the project would have no impacts on the threatened Mexican spotted owl because of a “lack of suitable habitat” for the bird in the area. Even after being presented with photographs of the birds living in the area, the federal agency maintained that the owl is not found there.
Tuesday, the Center for Biological Diversity, Lower San Pedro Watershed Alliance and the San Carlos Apache Tribe filed a notice of their intent to sue the Bureau of Land Management and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for violating the Endangered Species Act, alleging that the approved project threatens the Mexican spotted owl, which trail cameras set up by the Lower San Pedro Watershed Alliance found less than half a mile away from drill sites, along with other rare wildlife, like the yellow-billed cuckoo. Both bird species are listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act (ESA).
“Federal officials were warned that Mexican spotted owls are in the area but pushed this mining project ahead anyway and skipped steps required by law,” said Russ McSpadden, a Southwest conservation advocate at the Center for Biological Diversity. “The Endangered Species Act is supposed to protect imperiled wildlife before damage is done, not after agencies brush aside the evidence and greenlight industrial drilling. This mining project is clearly illegal and it must be stopped.”"
Wyatt Myskow reports for Inside Climate News April 29, 2026, co-published with Arizona Luminaria.
