We are excited to report another major win in the fight to protect the Santa Ritas: this week a federal judge ordered federal wildlife officials to redo their analysis of potential effects on jaguars and other endangered species. This ruling overturns yet another key permit the proposed Mine would need in order to operate, saying the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service used an improper evaluation standard and now must “reconsider whether the Rosemont Mine is ‘likely’ to result in destruction or adverse modification of the jaguar’s critical habitat” and impact other endangered species. Please see the press release from the Center for Biological Diversity for more info.
This ruling follows another from this past July that halted construction of the proposed mine, which Hudbay and the federal government appealed.
Regarding this appeal (originally filed in Nov. 2017 challenging the Forest Service’s approval of the mine), we now have a schedule for that case in the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals – not definitive, but at least a general time frame:
- April 4th, 2020, OPENING BRIEFS from Hudbay and the Feds
- Approximately 60 days after that – about June 3rd, 2020 — OUR RESPONSE will be due
- Oral arguments probably not until late in 2020 or even into 2021
We’ll post any updates as they are announced, and will continue to celebrate each victory we have that protects our beloved Santa Ritas.
Until then, all quiet on the Rosemont front,
Gayle Hartmann, President
Leave a Reply