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WildEarth Guardians, Center for Biological Diversity, the Southwest Environmental Law Center, and the Rewilding Institute officially appeal Gila Nat'l Forest's plan to re-open area that has been recovering for more than a decade from past cattle grazing The plan to graze the Hermosa Allotment could have harmed more than 100 miles of streams, jeopardized the integrity of native vegetation, and further impaired habitat for the critically endangered Mexican gray wolf and other rare species. The Hermosa Allotment is part of the Blue Range Wolf Recovery Area and provides habitat for numerous other federally listed wildlife species, including the bald eagle, Mexican spotted owl, and Chiricahua leopard frog. It also provides habitat for at least four rare and sensitive plants that are known to be harmed by livestock grazing operations. Though the allotment has been in non-use for the last 13 years, conditions there are poor to fair, and experiencing a downward trend. The proposed decision would have opened the allotment as a grass bank, for use when other allotments were subjected to prescribed and naturally ignited fires. The allotment contains over 60,000 acres of public land, two-thirds of which would have been closed to grazing under the proposed plan because the land is not suited to support cattle. The remaining lands, however, were to be used year-round without adequate protection for riparian areas, range conditions, or the needs of other species. The government’s environmental documents admit that under the plan, no improvement in resource conditions was expected during the next 10 years. |
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