A federal lawsuit was filed Monday in U.S. District Court in Tucson challenging approvals for an exploratory copper mine drilling project near Mammoth in the Galiuro Mountains, Arizona. The San Carlos Apache Tribe, Center for Biological Diversity, and Lower San Pedro Watershed Alliance alleged the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and Bureau of Land Management violated the Endangered Species Act by ignoring threatened Mexican spotted owls in the project area.
The lawsuit, filed on Monday, Aug. 24, 2026, challenges federal approvals issued by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) and Bureau of Land Management (BLM) for an exploratory copper mine drilling project covering more than 1,300 acres of public land near Mammoth in the Galiuro Mountains and Lower San Pedro Watershed, Arizona. The plaintiffs — the San Carlos Apache Tribe, the Tucson-based Center for Biological Diversity (CBD), and the Mammoth-based Lower San Pedro Watershed Alliance — allege that the agencies violated the Endangered Species Act (ESA) by ignoring documented presence of threatened Mexican spotted owls in the project area.
Federal officials knew that Mexican spotted owls were in the project area and still approved more than 1,300 acres of industrial drilling on our public lands.
According to the complaint and public statements from plaintiffs, the agencies approved the industrial drilling campaign despite photographic evidence from trail cameras showing Mexican spotted owls within the project boundaries. Melissa Crytzer Fry, chairwoman of the Lower San Pedro Watershed Alliance, said the agencies “dismissed that evidence” and proceeded with project approvals without treating the owls as present. The lawsuit seeks injunctive relief to halt drilling until the agencies comply with ESA and related environmental review requirements, and to ensure legal protections for the owls.
CBD’s Southwest conservation advocate Russ McSpadden stated, “” He added, “We’re asking the court to stop this drilling and give these imperiled owls the protections they deserve and that the law requires.” The lawsuit targets approvals granted to a Canadian mining company for the exploratory drilling near Mammoth.
The plaintiffs contend that the agencies’ no-owl finding and project approvals violate the ESA by failing to properly consider and protect owl habitat. The complaint alleges that FWS and BLM failed to use the best available scientific data and did not adequately analyze the potential for the project to jeopardize the species or adversely modify its habitat. The lawsuit also invokes the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), arguing that the agencies fast-tracked the project without sufficiently evaluating cumulative impacts on the owls and their ecosystem.
BLM’s environmental review acknowledged the possibility of groundwater impacts that could affect the riparian corridor and canyonland habitat favored by Mexican spotted owls but concluded that overall effects on the species would be “negligible.” This determination is now contested by the plaintiffs, who argue that exploratory drilling and associated infrastructure could fragment habitat, increase noise and disturbance, and harm water resources critical to the ecosystem. The lawsuit seeks declaratory relief asking the court to set aside the agencies’ approvals until full compliance with ESA and NEPA is demonstrated.
The San Carlos Apache Tribe, CBD, and the Lower San Pedro Watershed Alliance had previously issued a Notice of Intent to sue BLM and FWS over their failure to protect Mexican spotted owls, leading up to the current litigation. Fry noted that the photographic evidence was submitted during the review process but was disregarded by the agencies. The conservation groups describe the federal review as “fast-tracked,” asserting that it failed to account for owl habitat and cumulative environmental impacts.
The Mexican spotted owl has been listed as a threatened species under the ESA since 1993 due to habitat loss and degradation primarily from logging and wildfires across the Southwest United States and northern Mexico. Federal agencies are required under the ESA to ensure that their actions do not jeopardize the species or destroy or adversely modify its critical habitat. This lawsuit reflects a broader pattern of environmental litigation where courts have scrutinized agency findings that projects are not likely to jeopardize spotted owl populations despite documented habitat risks.
Similar cases involving northern spotted owls in California have resulted in court rulings demanding stronger evidence and more rigorous protections. Environmental groups have repeatedly challenged federal decisions that downplay owl mortality and habitat loss, including permits allowing incidental take of spotted owls over long-term logging plans. The Mammoth-area lawsuit fits within this larger legal and conservation trend, where plaintiffs use ESA and NEPA to contest resource extraction projects in key owl habitats and seek court orders to strengthen protections.
No court date has been announced. The lawsuit remains pending in U.S. District Court in Tucson.
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