San Pedro Riparian National Conservation Area Grazing
Center for Biological Diversity
Western Watersheds Project
Southwestern willow flycatcher
Western yellow-billed cuckoo
Northern Mexican garter snake
Huachuca water umbel
April 7, 2020 – Advocates for the West filed suit against the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) on behalf of Western Watersheds Project and Center for Biological Diversity for the agency’s failure to protect the San Pedro Riparian National Conservation Area (RNCA) from damage caused by livestock grazing. The BLM’s 2019 management plan sanctioned destructive levels of livestock grazing on protected lands, putting the area’s remarkable resources at risk.
The San Pedro RNCA – the nation’s first riparian National Conservation Area – was created by Congress in 1988 and BLM was given a mandate to “Conserve, Protect, and Enhance” the unique values it encompasses. The RNCA includes more than 46 miles of the San Pedro and Babocomari rivers, and nearly 55,000 acres of riparian areas and uplands, including four of the rarest habitat types in the Southwest (cottonwood/willow forests, marshlands, grasslands, and mesquite bosques). More than 400 birds, 50 species of reptiles and amphibians, and 80 species of mammals are found in the RNCA, making this area a world-renowned biodiversity hotspot.