By Howard Fischer
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PHOENIX — Citing danger to endangered jaguars, environmental groups are going to court to block the U.S. Forest Service from constructing new roads in the Chiricahua National Forest.

The lawsuit filed Monday in federal court in Tucson contends the agency failed to comply with various laws in approving construction of 2.6 miles of new segments in the forest’s Environmental Management Area.

The issue is about more than that segment. Attorney Adriane Hofmeyr said it would open or reopen 20 miles of roads within the area to “disruptive motorized access.”

What makes that unacceptable, she wrote, is the move would affect 11 federally listed species and one designated critical habitat that may be affected by the project.

Hofmeyr pointed out the area is also home — and central to the survival — of one of the last known wild jaguars in the United States, an animal that was given the same Sombra, meaning shadow, by students at Paulo Freiere Freedom School in Tucson. She also said it is the home to threatened Mexican spotted owls.

All that, Hofmeyr said, was not properly considered when the agency gave its go-ahead last year.

There was no immediate response from the Forest Service or the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, which also is named as a defendant.

According to the lawsuit, the Forest Service stated its purpose of the project is to provide “permanent, legal, motorized access” to the John Long Canyon, the North Fork of Pinery Canyon and Horseshoe Canyon. That, she said, is unnecessary.

“These canyons can be accessed via non-motorized means, providing opportunity for recreation while maintaining the pristine, wild nature of the area and protecting biodiversity and natural resources,” Hofmeyr wrote.

“The construction of these proposed roads for motorized access and the resulting increase in human use and activity in these remote areas will cause significant harm and disturbance to protect species and their habitat.”

That is just part of the issue. There’s also the construction itself. Hofmeyr said the environmental assessment of the project says that will involve “blasting or use of track hoe with hammer or trimmer in some locations due to bedrock” as well as “heavy equipment such as bulldozers, track hoes, dump trucks, and motor graders.”

She said construction of certain roads would involve a “disturbance footprint” of about 30 feet in width, require stream crossings, installation of gates and construction of cattle guards.

“Construction will produce dust and noise that will ‘detract from the quiet recreation settings’ in the canyon,” she said, quoting from the environmental assessment.

Hofmeyr paid particular attention to the John Long Canyon, which she said has been protected from intrusive motorized activity for approximately 37 years. And she said the Forest Service itself has said that area “currently provides high-quality habitat for jaguars because it is remote with rugged terrain, has permanent water and dense canopy cover, and is not frequently accessed by people.”

She also said jaguar prey is abundant due to current lack of hunting pressure.

“This canyon is home to one of two known jaguars inhabiting the United States,” Hofmeyr said, including the one male who has been cited repeatedly within the Chiricahua and Dos Cabezas Mountains area from November 2016 through at least August 2021.

“Additional sightings in 2023 confirm the jaguar’s continued presence,” she wrote.

The failure to take all this into account, Hofmeyr said, runs afoul of the agency’s obligations under the National Environmental Policy Act and the Administrative Procedure Act.

“The agency failed to adequately analyze the impacts of fragmentation of the jaguar’s habitat,” she said, calling it “one of the most significant threats to the species, especially considering other current threats to the jaguar’s possible habitat and movement.”

The bottom line, Hofmeyr said, is the judge should block implementation of the project unless and until the federal agencies “can demonstrate full compliance with the law.”

In a prepared statement, Laiken Jordahl, Southwest conservation advocate at the Center for Biological Diversity, said the “fragile canyons” are key to recovery of endangered jaguars and Mexican spotted owls.

“The Coronado National Forest’s deeply flawed decision once again puts the interests of hunters and off-road enthusiasts over the protection of endangered species and our public lands,” he said.

David Hodges of Natural Allies, which also is a plaintiff in the lawsuit, took a swat at those involved.

“This continues a trend by current leadership on the Coronado National Forest, who, under the guise of access, favor motorized recreation above protecting rare and endangered species,” he said in his own statement. “This is the same leadership who approved 20 miles of dirt bike trails within critical habitat designated for the protection of jaguars.”