Environmentalists sued two federal agencies Monday over road plans in Arizona they fear could imperil vulnerable jaguars and spotted owls but that planners say will boost recreation opportunities.
The Center for Biological Diversity and four allied organizations contend in the new lawsuit that the Forest Service and the Fish and Wildlife Service put the protected species at undue risk by approving new roads in the rugged Coronado National Forest.
In particular, the lawsuit challenges plans for nearly 3 miles of roads through the canyons of the Chiricahua Mountains. These roads would reopen access to other forest roads that are currently closed, according to the lawsuit.
“These fragile canyons in the Chiricahua Mountains are a sanctuary for wildlife and they’re key to the recovery of endangered jaguars and Mexican spotted owls,” Laiken Jordahl, Southwest conservation advocate at the Center for Biological Diversity, said in a statement.
