9th Circuit Court of Appeals Finding for Water Canyon Allotment Lawsuit

The 9th Circuit court has ruled that endangered wildlife must be considered when government land managers fail to fulfill obligations under the Endangered Species Act (ESA)

In a ruling with wide implications for cattle grazing on public lands, the court ofappeals for the 9th Circuit in San Francisco sided last week with WildEarth Guardians, a New Mexico-based, conservation organization. In an appeal, an attorney for the group argued the failure of the Apache-Sitgreaves National Forest in Arizona to monitor the degree of grass consumption by domestic livestock, as it had promised in a binding agreement with the US Fish and Wildlife Service, would result in effects on the Mexican spotted owl and an endangered minnow that were not previously considered.

See the court's ruling


 

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