US court overturns Arizona jaguar protections amid copper mine fight
(Reuters) - A U.S. appeals court on Wednesday vacated critical habitat designations for an endangered jaguar species in Arizona, siding with a subsidiary of Canada-based Hudbay Minerals Inc that had sought to build a $1.9 billion open-pit copper mine near Tucson.
A split three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals partially reversed a lower court's decision that favored the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, determining that the agency had not shown that areas around the proposed copper mine are essential for the jaguar’s survival.
A Hudbay spokesperson said the company is pleased with the decision, and said the lands "are not, in any normal sense of the word" essential to the jaguar's survival.
The Fish and Wildlife Service did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The ruling, which applies to just a portion of the broader jaguar habitat in southern Arizona and New Mexico, sends the issue back to the wildlife agency to reconsider its analysis.
A dissent written by Circuit Judge Holly Thomas argued the agency had "amply" supported designation of the tracts at issue for protection.
Marc Fink, an attorney for the Center for Biological Diversity, which had originally challenged the government's approvals for the mining but has defended its habitat designations, said there is documented evidence showing the large cats live in and rely on the habitat surrounding the proposed mine.
Hudbay’s Rosemont Copper Co had appealed a 2020 Arizona district court decision that backed the 2014 designation of more than 350,000 acres in mountains southeast of Tucson as critical for the jaguar.
The company’s efforts to mine copper in the area have faced significant legal challenges, including a separate 9th Circuit decision last year that overturned U.S. Forest Service approvals for the company’s proposal to deposit waste rock and other mining byproducts in the Coronado National Forest.
Following those setbacks, the company has indicated it is currently only focusing on mining on privately owned lands in the area. The Hudbay spokesperson said the Wednesday decision could help with future approvals if it decides to explore mining on federal lands again.
The case is Center for Biological Diversity v. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, No. 20-15654.
For Hudbay: Theodore Boutrous, Bradley Hamburger and Julian Poon of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher; and Norman James of Fennemore Craig
For the government: Assistant Attorney General Todd Kim and Andrew Bernie of the U.S. Department of Justice
For the Center for Biological Diversity: Brendan Cummings, Marc Fink and Allison Henderson of the Center for Biological Diversity