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Defenders Magazine
Defenders in Action: Construction on Pygmy-owl Habitat Halted
Defenders of Wildlife helped temporarily stop the 160-acre Chaparral Heights development project in endangered cactus ferruginous pygmy-owl habitat in Tucson, Arizona, in January. After learning in December that the developers had already begun plowing on the pygmy-owl’s habitat before consulting with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Defenders’ Tucson, Arizona, staff and Washington, D.C., legal staff quickly intervened. Federal officials then ordered all activity at Chaparral Heights to stop until concerns over the project’s impacts on the pygmy-owl’s continued existence were adequately addressed.
"Chaparral Heights is a case study in how uncontrolled commercial and residential development in the Tucson area is threatening the pygmy-owl’s continued existence in Arizona, one of only two places in the United States where the species exists," says Craig Miller, director of Defenders’ Southwest office.
