Conservation advocates argue that federal agencies failed to adequately consider the impacts of exploratory drilling on wildlife and plant communities

Look West: Public lands and energy news from the Center for Western Priorities


** Groups seek to protect Arizona's Patagonia Mountains from mining
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Monday, July 17, 2023
Arizona's Patagonia Mountains, Philip Capper/CC BY 2.0 ([link removed])

A coalition of conservation advocates is asking a U.S. District Court judge to halt exploratory drilling in southern Arizona's Patagonia Mountains. Two mining companies were granted permits to drill at two sites earlier this year to explore for copper and critical minerals. One of those sites is part of the larger Hermosa Project, which is applying for its permits under an expedited process known as FAST-41 ([link removed]) .

But the conservation groups are requesting a preliminary injunction ([link removed]) and have filed a notice of intent ([link removed]) to sue the U.S Forest Service and the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service for violating the Endangered Species Act. The groups argue that the Forest Service relied on incomplete and irrelevant information when considering the impacts of drilling activity, and that the Forest Service failed to account for the cumulative impacts of drilling at multiple sites. The notice also points out that endangered species have been documented in the drilling area. The groups have already sued ([link removed]) the Forest Service for violating the
National Environmental Policy Act.

The Patagonia Mountains are one of southern Arizona's Sky Islands—unique biodiversity hotspots that are home to a wide variety of wildlife and plants from endangered Mexican spotted owls and Western yellow-billed cuckoos to desert sand verbena and desert globemallow. These animal and plant communities provide important migratory habitat for ocelots and jaguars that move between Arizona and Sonora in Mexico.
Quick hits


** Lithium drilling plans near Ash Meadows refuge on pause
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Las Vegas Review Journal ([link removed])


** States struggle to plug oil wells with infrastructure law cash
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E&E News ([link removed])


** Groups ask court to halt mining exploration in Arizona's Patagonia Mountains
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Tucson Sentinel ([link removed]) | Associated Press ([link removed])


** Proposed national monument would protect area around Grand Canyon from mining
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Arizona Daily Sun ([link removed])


** Fast-tracked oil expansion plan in Utah threatens the Colorado River
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Colorado Newsline ([link removed])


** Feds walk back BLM boss's corner-crossing directive
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WyoFile ([link removed])


** How a Saudi firm tapped a gusher of water in drought-stricken Arizona
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Washington Post ([link removed])


** Rockhounds fight for access to Mojave Trails National Monument
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Los Angeles Times ([link removed])
Quote of the day
” My focus, and what I’m asking of my colleagues, is to manage for landscape health in everything we do. It is the narrative thread of all our work, even our partnership work. It is our obligation to the future to manage for landscape health today to leave as many options on the table as possible.”
—Bureau of Land Management Director Tracy Stone-Manning, Billings Gazette ([link removed])
Picture this


** @mypubliclands ([link removed])
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Islands in the sky might sound like a fantasy but rising more than 6,000 feet above the desert floor, Arizona’s Sky Islands are a reality, supporting biodiversity rarely seen in the West. 🏝️ This pocket of isolated mountains is home to a unique assemblage of over 30 federally listed species living in both desert and alpine ecosystems. The landscape, also known for its vast heritage and recreational opportunities, is under threat from unprecedented drought and catastrophic wildfire.

The Restoration Landscapes initiative will help reduce fuel loads, improve groundwater management, protect critical wildlife migration corridors, and support recovery of threatened and endangered wildlife. Investments in fencing will also help protect the critical desert riparian ecosystem of the San Pedro Riparian National Conservation Area.

Learn more about #RestorationLandscapes ([link removed]) at the link in our bio.

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