Protecting Arizona’s Wild: How Environmental Groups are Holding the Forest Service Accountable Under the Endangered Species Act
By Abigail Knox. On October 13, a Ninth Circuit judge approved a settlement agreement that holds the Forest Service accountable for protecting Arizona’s watersheds and the endangered species that live there from the damage of domestic livestock grazing. For environmentalists, it’s like Groundhog Day: decades ago, the federal government promised to prevent grazing on Arizona’s sensitive riparian areas. However, the Center for Biological Diversity (CBD) and Maricopa Audubon Society (MAS) have found significant damage as a result of years of unauthorized cattle grazing. Based on these findings, CBD and MAS initiated multiple lawsuits last year, alleging that the US Forest Service and the US Fish and Wildlife Service are in violation of the Endangered Species Act due to their nonenforcement of these grazing restrictions. This time around, will the Forest…