Environmentalists say unauthorized cattle grazing damages Arizona endangered species habitat

PHOENIX — The habitat of two endangered species is being destroyed by unauthorized cattle grazing at the Agua Fria National Monument in Arizona, according to environmental advocates.

The Center for Biological Diversity released evidence Monday of how the grazing is damaging the habitat of the Gila chub fish and western yellow-billed cuckoo bird.

Both animals are protected under the Endangered Species Act. The Center for Biological Diversity has filed multiple lawsuits against the U.S. Bureau of Land Management and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service seeking to have the cattle removed from the area.

Removing cattle from these lands is critical to preventing extinctions in the Southwest, according to environmentalists.

How does cattle grazing affect Agua Fria National Monument protected areas?

“Our new survey shows that federal officials are continuing to allow cattle herds to trash endangered species habitat in a national monument, breaking the law,” Chris Bugbee, a Center for Biological Diversity advocate, said in a press release.

“Federal agencies and the Arizona Game and Fish Department are complicit and choosing to look the other way, even as the wildlife they’re legally required to protect are pushed towards extinction. This disgraceful violation of the Endangered Species Act has to stop.”

The damage caused by the cattle includes trampled river bottoms and banks, destruction of critical plants, cow feces in streams and damaged archeological sites, according to Bugbee’s group.

The 71,000-acre Agua Fria National Monument is about 60 miles north of downtown Phoenix and is home to a variety of wild species. In 2000, Congress designated the monument in order to protect cultural resources and history, riparian forests and biodiversity.

The Center for Biological Diversity has been documenting unauthorized grazing damage to the area since 2021.

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