The Center for Biological Diversity has filed suit against the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service over an endangered species of owl that makes its home in the desert.
The cactus ferruginous pygmy owl first received protection under the Endangered Species Act in the '90s, but lost it when developers sued the Fish and Wildlife Service.
The center has tried to regain protection for the birds and succeeded in 2021, but the agency has yet to come up with a recovery plan.
Noah Greenwald, a spokesman for the nonprofit, said the owl faces a number of threats, including urban sprawl, wildfire, drought and climate change.
He said that buffelgrass, an invasive that burns hotter than native grasses, can help drive wildfire into the bird's habitat, and the proposed Interstate 11 freeway could pose an additional threat.
"Climate change also obviously affects saguaros, which they depend on, so you know there’s really a combination of factors, and you know I see the cactus ferruginous pygmy owl as really being a bellwether for the health of Sonoran Desert overall," Greenwald said.
He says the recent suit was filed to pressure Fish and Wildlife to finalize a new plan.
"You know we had to file this suit to ensure that it gets protection as soon as possible," Greenwald said.
