Conservation group sues feds over mouse habitat

SANTA FE – WildEarth Guardians has followed through on a promise it made in July to sue the U.S. Forest Service for allowing livestock grazing in streamside areas in the Santa Fe National Forest thought to be critical habitat for the endangered New Mexico meadow jumping mouse. The Santa Fe-based conservation group filed the lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Albuquerque on Wednesday, maintaining that the Forest Service has a mandatory duty under the Endangered Species Act to ensure grazing activities in the forest won’t jeopardize the mouse’s continued existence. The Forest Service is catching flak from both sides. Last month, ranchers sued the agency, arguing that Forest Service plans to block off water and grazing areas for mouse habitat go too far. In June, the New Mexico meadow jumping mouse was recognized by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service as an endangered species requiring habitat protection...more