Karmactive Staff
Conservation groups have launched legal action to stop widespread cattle damage threatening endangered species in Arizona’s Tonto National Forest. The Center for Biological Diversity and Maricopa Bird Alliance filed a notice of intent to sue the U.S. Forest Service and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service over what they call years of illegal grazing affecting critical wildlife habitat.
Recent field surveys reveal alarming damage to streams and riverside areas. In 2025, surveyors examined 52 miles of riparian habitat and found 65% was moderately to severely damaged by cattle. Since 2017, surveyors have documented problems across 176 miles of streams in the forest.
The notice targets 22 grazing allotments in the forest. It marks the fourth such legal notice in five years and comes more than two years after the Forest Service promised, but failed to complete, a review of the deteriorating conditions.
“It’s outrageous that the federal agency tasked with protecting our public lands is instead facilitating their destruction,” said Chris Bugbee, southwest conservation advocate at the Center for Biological Diversity. “Cows are specifically banned from many of these lands in the Tonto National Forest.”
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The affected waterways provide essential habitat for several endangered species, including the yellow-billed cuckoo, southwestern willow flycatcher, Chiricahua leopard frog, northern Mexican garter snake, narrow-headed garter snake, spikedace, razorback sucker, and Gila chub.
Riparian areas make up just 0.5% of Arizona’s land but support about 75% of the state’s wildlife. Conservation groups argue that protecting these areas is critical for preventing extinction of vulnerable species.
According to public records cited by the Center for Biological Diversity, ranching operations on these allotments have each received an average of $500,000 in subsidies from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which oversees the Forest Service.
Charles Babbitt, Conservation Chair of the Maricopa Bird Alliance, described the situation as a crisis: “Year after year, the fragile desert streams that endangered species need to survive are allowed to be damaged by cows that aren’t supposed to be there. It’s an abuse of our public lands.”
This legal action continues a pattern of disputes over grazing in Tonto National Forest. In 2022, similar groups filed notices over cattle damage in the same forest. In 2023, a court victory halted grazing in another portion of the forest after the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled the Forest Service made “serious errors” in its environmental analysis.
The 60-day notice gives federal agencies time to address the issues before a formal lawsuit is filed. Conservation groups are calling for the removal of cattle from sensitive riparian areas as a critical step to protect endangered species in the Southwest.
