Apache-Sitgreaves not included in Mexican spotted owl court order
White Mountain Independent
A federal court order has halted all tree-cutting activities including forest-thinning treatments, prescribed fire and even firewood fuel permits in the Gila National Forest in western New Mexico and the Tonto National Forest in central Arizona. The order is also in effect on four other national forests in New Mexico.
Judge Raner Collins of the U.S. District Court in Tucson issued an injunction on September 11 in response to a case filed by WildEarth Guardians, a Sante Fe-based environmental group, in 2013. The suit against the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the U.S. Forest Service alleges that the two agencies have not adequately tracked the bird’s population numbers or documented the impact to the owls from widespread thinning and logging.