by what I read
Lawsuit Filed Against Arizona Mountain Lion/Bighorn Sheep Study
A federally sponsored Arizona Game and Fish Department (AGFD) study that sanctions killing mountain lions to reduce their predation of bighorn sheep was challenged in a lawsuit last week.
The ongoing lion and sheep study deals with about 200 square miles in the Tonto National Forest and Four Peaks Wilderness Area, southwest of Roosevelt Lake. It's being carried out by the AGFD, but was approved and funded by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS).
The suit names the U.S. Forest Service and the USFWS as defendants, alleging they broke federal environmental laws in approving the project.
The study allows private and government hunters to use hounds, snares and firearms to kill up to 36 lions. As part of the study, sheep have been captured using nets shot from helicopters and released back into the wild after being fitted with radio collars and checked for diseases.
Bighorn sheep once roamed Arizona's Four Peaks area in large numbers but were nearly extirpated by the mid-20th century due to hunting, habitat damage and disease transmission from livestock, the suit says. During the early 1980s, the AGFD reintroduced sheep to the area, but after an initial increase, the population declined sharply during the mid- to late-'90s.
The conservation groups acknowledge mountain lions naturally prey on sheep. But they say other threats, such as disease, drought and habitat loss, haven't been given enough attention, even though AGFD internal memos highlight those problems.
Despite the risk of disease transmission from livestock, the study area includes a federally authorized sheep "driveway" through which thousands of domestic sheep are herded to reach grazing allotments, the suit argues.
The suit also complains that the public didn't get as much input as it is entitled to under the National Environmental Policy Act.
The suit was filed by the Fund for Animals, the Animal Defense League of Arizona, the Humane Society of the United States, the Mountain Lion Foundation, Forest Guardians, the Center for Biological Diversity, the Animal Protection Institute and the Flagstaff Activist Network.
Lawsuit Filed Against Arizona Mountain Lion/Bighorn Sheep Study
A federally sponsored Arizona Game and Fish Department (AGFD) study that sanctions killing mountain lions to reduce their predation of bighorn sheep was challenged in a lawsuit last week.
The ongoing lion and sheep study deals with about 200 square miles in the Tonto National Forest and Four Peaks Wilderness Area, southwest of Roosevelt Lake. It's being carried out by the AGFD, but was approved and funded by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS).
The suit names the U.S. Forest Service and the USFWS as defendants, alleging they broke federal environmental laws in approving the project.
The study allows private and government hunters to use hounds, snares and firearms to kill up to 36 lions. As part of the study, sheep have been captured using nets shot from helicopters and released back into the wild after being fitted with radio collars and checked for diseases.
Bighorn sheep once roamed Arizona's Four Peaks area in large numbers but were nearly extirpated by the mid-20th century due to hunting, habitat damage and disease transmission from livestock, the suit says. During the early 1980s, the AGFD reintroduced sheep to the area, but after an initial increase, the population declined sharply during the mid- to late-'90s.
The conservation groups acknowledge mountain lions naturally prey on sheep. But they say other threats, such as disease, drought and habitat loss, haven't been given enough attention, even though AGFD internal memos highlight those problems.
Despite the risk of disease transmission from livestock, the study area includes a federally authorized sheep "driveway" through which thousands of domestic sheep are herded to reach grazing allotments, the suit argues.
The suit also complains that the public didn't get as much input as it is entitled to under the National Environmental Policy Act.
The suit was filed by the Fund for Animals, the Animal Defense League of Arizona, the Humane Society of the United States, the Mountain Lion Foundation, Forest Guardians, the Center for Biological Diversity, the Animal Protection Institute and the Flagstaff Activist Network.
