Conservation groups have sued the U.S. Forest Service over the agency’s authorization of two mineral exploration projects in southern Arizona.
The work is slated for an area in the Patagonia Mountains north of the U.S.-Mexico border and will explore for copper and other minerals.
Conservationists, including the Center for Biological Diversity and the Patagonia Area Resource Alliance, say the projects would damage riparian areas, aquifers and surface water, and that area includes critical habitat for endangered species like jaguars and Mexican spotted owls.
The groups allege that when the Forest Service approved the projects it violated the National Environmental Policy Act by not taking into account the effects on public lands, water and endangered species.