Conservationists say feds failed to consider Arizona mining effects on Mexican spotted owl

The Center for Biological Diversity and the San Carlos Apache Tribe have sued the Bureau of Land Management over its approval of exploratory copper drilling along Copper Creek in southern Arizona, saying the agency wrongly concluded no Mexican spotted owls live in the 65-square-kilometer project area despite submitted photo evidence. The bureau's June 2025 environmental assessment approved over 1,300 acres of drilling at 67 sites, withdrawing at least 70,000 gallons of groundwater per rig monthly.

The tribe says the bureau ignored repeated requests for consultation over the Galiuro Mountains' cultural significance, while the agency's own document admits groundwater declines are the 'primary driver' of riparian species loss yet states it never evaluated pumping effects on the threatened yellow-billed cuckoo. The lawsuit seeks to halt drilling until both species receive proper review under the Endangered Species Act.

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