But he agreed the agency is not completely in compliance with the Endangered Species Act. The Forest Service is very serious about protecting threatened and endangered species. While environmentalists criticize the Forest Service for not doing enough to protect threatened and endangered species, cattle growers say the agency is doing too much, Jackson said. Caren Cowen, executive secretary of the New Mexico Cattle Growers Association in Albuquerque, said her group will consider intervening in the lawsuit to make sure that the court hears from families that would be affected by ordering a reduction in grazing. Meanwhile, the Arizona Wildlife Federation said the livestock industry has been favored by the government to the detriment to native wildlife populations.
Elk are a vital part of a growing regional economy, both for wildlife watching and hunting.
Our federal land management agencies have always made elk play second fiddle to cattle. It was the second time the Forest Service had been sued over grazing in a little over a week. On Oct. 20, the Tucson-based Center for Biological Diversity filed suit against the Forest Service because the agency has continued to allow grazing in critical habitat for the spikedace and the loach minnow. The organization sought an injunction, challenging the Forest Service's authorization of livestock grazing in the Coconino, Prescott, Tonto and Apache-Sitgreaves national forests in Arizona and the Gila National Forest in New Mexico.