Public lands on the line

A federal courtroom in downtown Tucson will become the next battleground over the future of more than 52,000 acres of public land in the Patagonia Mountains. On Tuesday, Nov. 3, U.S. District Judge Raner C. Collins is scheduled to hear arguments on whether to temporarily stop South32’s planned Hermosa mine expansion while a legal challenge moves forward. The decision could affect wildlife habitat, groundwater and nearby communities across southern Arizona, while giving Tucson residents a direct point of contact with a dispute over how public lands are used.

The Center for Biological Diversity and the Patagonia Area Resource Alliance are asking Collins to issue a preliminary injunction against the expansion. Their lawsuit names the U.S. Forest Service and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, arguing that the agencies did not sufficiently study the project’s potential effects before approving it. The groups contend that federal officials failed to meet obligations under the Endangered Species Act and the National Environmental Policy Act, particularly regarding protected species, groundwater and other public resources.

The hearing is set for 1:15 p.m. in Courtroom 6D at the federal courthouse, 405 W. Congress St. Supporters of protecting the Patagonia Mountains plan to gather outside from 12:15 to 12:45 p.m. for a rally focused on wildlife, water and local communities. The conservation groups filed the case after the Trump administration approved South32’s expansion on Sept. 2. The court’s consideration of the injunction will not resolve the entire lawsuit, but it could determine whether construction or other expansion activity continues while the broader case proceeds.

The proposal would extend industrial mining operations across public land in the Coronado National Forest for 83 years. Planned infrastructure includes a 225-acre tailings facility designed to hold as much as 38 million tons of mining waste, along with a permanent access road stretching 7.6 miles. The expansion would also require 7.2 miles of new power transmission lines, potentially hundreds of exploratory drill holes and six groundwater wells. Together, those elements would bring a large industrial footprint deep into a forested mountain landscape that conservation groups describe as important habitat and a refuge for wildlife moving between Mexico and Arizona.

Water is central to the dispute. The lawsuit says groundwater pumping for the mine could lower the water table by as much as 250 feet. The groups warn that such a decline could reduce or eliminate flows in seeps and springs, water sources that sustain wildlife in the Patagonia Mountains. Their challenge argues that federal agencies did not adequately analyze those risks before approving the project. The potential effects reach beyond the mine’s immediate facilities because groundwater changes could alter the natural systems that support plants and animals throughout the surrounding public lands.

The area is also home to species protected under federal law. The Patagonia Mountains provide a corridor for endangered jaguars and ocelots traveling between northern Mexico and southern Arizona. The region includes habitat for threatened Mexican spotted owls and western yellow-billed cuckoos. Rare plants identified in the area include Bartram’s stonecrop and beardless chinchweed. The conservation groups say federal officials did not sufficiently evaluate how the mine expansion could affect those species or their designated critical habitat, an allegation that forms a major part of the lawsuit.

The Patagonia Area Resource Alliance is a grassroots organization focused on protecting the Patagonia Mountains and the Sonoita Creek Watershed from the effects of modern industrial mining. The Center for Biological Diversity, a national nonprofit conservation organization with more than 1.8 million members and online activists, is also involved in the case. Together, the groups are seeking to keep the project from advancing until the court examines whether the government’s environmental review met federal requirements. South32 is the company behind the proposed expansion, though the provided information does not describe the company’s response to the lawsuit or the injunction request.

The fight reflects a wider tension over public land decisions in the Southwest, where energy and mining projects can bring major infrastructure into areas valued for wildlife, water and recreation. In another Arizona and Southwest example, SunZia transmission towers were built to carry renewable energy from New Mexico to parts of Arizona and California despite opposition and legal challenges from community groups, environmentalists and tribes. The SunZia project and the Hermosa expansion involve different industries and locations, but both illustrate why decisions involving public land often draw scrutiny well beyond the project boundaries.

For Tucson residents, Tuesday’s hearing offers a chance to watch a consequential southern Arizona land use dispute unfold at a courthouse in the city. The immediate question before Collins is whether the Hermosa expansion should be halted during the lawsuit. The larger questions involve the level of analysis required before public land is committed to decades of industrial activity, how groundwater risks should be weighed, and whether federal protections for endangered species were properly applied. The rally and hearing are scheduled for Nov. 3, with the case continuing after the court considers the request for a preliminary injunction.