TUCSON, Ariz.— The Center for Biological Diversity and Maricopa Bird Alliance today filed a notice of intent to sue the U.S. Forest Service and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to end years of illegal cow grazing that damages critical habitat for the yellow-billed cuckoo and endangered species in the Tonto National Forest northeast of Phoenix.

“It’s outrageous that the federal agency tasked with protecting our public lands is instead facilitating their destruction,” said Chris Bugbee, southwest conservation advocate at the Center for Biological Diversity. “Cows are specifically banned from many of these lands in the Tonto National Forest. By looking the other way and being beholden to ranchers, our federal land managers at the Forest Service are abdicating their responsibilities and condemning endangered animals to extinction.”

Field survey data by the Center documents four years of widespread cow grazing damage across a cumulative 176 riparian miles in the Tonto National Forest. In 2025, 52 miles were surveyed, finding 65% moderately to severely damaged by cows.

Today’s notice addresses 22 cow grazing allotments. It is the fourth such notice in five years and comes more than two and a half years after the Forest Service promised — but failed to complete — a review of the deteriorating situation. The 22 cow grazing allotments are supervised by Tonto National Forest management schemes rubberstamped by the Fish and Wildlife Service.

Public records show that the ranching operations on these allotments have each received an average of $500,000 in subsidies from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the parent agency of the Forest Service that is tasked with controlling grazing and protecting the critical habitat being destroyed.

The damaged streams are designated critical habitat and occupied habitat of endangered species including yellow-billed cuckoo, southwestern willow flycatcher, Chiricahua leopard frog, northern Mexican garter snake, narrow-headed garter snake, spikedace, razorback sucker and Gila chub.

Approximately 75% of Arizona’s wildlife species depend on riparian areas for survival even though the areas represent only 0.5% of the state’s total land area. The extent of cow grazing damage to streams 2017-2024 is documented in the Center’s 2025 report.

“There’s a crisis unfolding on the Tonto National Forest, where year after year, the fragile desert streams that endangered species need to survive are allowed to be damaged by cows that aren’t supposed to be there,” said Maricopa Bird Alliance Conservation Chair Charles Babbitt. “It’s an abuse of our public lands and it is imperative that the responsible officials fix this.”

Removal of banned cows from riparian areas is critical to curbing the extinction crisis in the Southwest.