The oft-litigated red squirrels named after Arizona’s Mount Graham reentered federal court Tuesday as environmentalists sued the Fish and Wildlife Service over a much-awaited critical habitat update.
In the latest turn of a long-running dispute, the Center for Biological Diversity and the Maricopa Audubon Society sued the federal agency for what they called an “unlawfully delayed” revision to the squirrels’ designated critical habitat. The environmental groups charged that the lagging response to a 2017 petition violated the Endangered Species Act.
“It’s pathetic that the Fish and Wildlife Service recognized these squirrels were in jeopardy more than two decades ago but now ignores this when there are fewer squirrels and less habitat,” Robin Silver, co-founder of the Center for Biological Diversity, said in a statement.
The Fish and Wildlife Service did not comment on the litigation.
