A federal judge in Arizona has found the Interior Department failed to take proper action to prevent illegal cattle grazing in the Agua Fria National Monument that is damaging critical habitat for an endangered fish and threatened migratory bird.
Judge Rosemary Márquez ruled Tuesday that the Bureau of Land Management and the Fish and Wildlife Service violated the Endangered Species Act. She ordered the agencies to restart consultation to review the risks posed by permitting cattle to graze in part of the monument known as the Horseshoe Allotment to the Gila chub and yellow-billed cuckoo.
The decision is a preliminary win for the Center for Biological Diversity and the Maricopa Audubon Society, which had challenged letters of concurrence from the Fish and Wildlife Service from 2018 and 2024 with BLM’s biological assessment. The agency determined grazing would not have a significant effect on the two species since cattle could be prevented from accessing the most sensitive habitat areas.
The court has yet to rule on other parts of the environmental groups’ legal challenge, which was first filed in 2024.
