TUCSON CITIZEN: Sat., June 3, 2006
Judge mulls blocking delisting of pygmy owl
The Associated Press
A federal judge is deciding whether to grant a request from environmentalists to issue an injunction blocking the removal of the pygmy owl from the endangered species list until a final ruling can be made in a legal fight.
U.S. District Judge Susan Bolton already declined requests for a temporary restraining order blocking the government's decision to delist the cactus ferruginous pygmy owl. She took the most recent request under advisement this week after hearing arguments in the environmentalists' case.
Attorney Michael Senatore argued that the tiny bird's Sonoran Desert habitat is in imminent danger from several developments. He cited a declaration outlining a half-dozen projects total-ing at least 1,200 homes on 4,300 acres. The projects had been undergoing federal environmental reviews until the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service decided in mid-April to delist the bird.
Fish & Wildlife is removing the pygmy owl from the list because it has determined it is not a distinct subspecies.
Attorneys for the U.S. Justice Department and homebuilder groups said these and other threats alleged by environmentalists are speculative and that the vast majority of pygmy owl habitat is already protected because it lies in national monuments, national wildlife refuges or Indian reservations.
Senatore and Norm James, an attorney representing the Southern Arizona Home Builders Association and two other builder groups, said they expect a ruling on the injunction request in a week or two.
The pygmy owl is about 6 inches long and weighs less than 3 ounces, but it has been at the center of a battle between environmentalists and developers for more than a decade. Developers and landowners have opposed endangered status for the bird because of its economic impact. Its presence delayed numerous developments and road projects and also blocked construction of a high school northwest of Tucson.