Environmental groups are suing the U.S. Forest Service for approving a two and a half mile segment of road construction in the Coronado National Forest.
The groups are asking a judge to block the project.
According to the lawsuit, the Forest Service stated the purpose of the project is to provide permanent legal motorized access to John Long, Horseshoe and Pinery Canyons.
Attorney Adriane Hofmeyr said the move would open 20 miles of roads within the area to disruptive vehicles.
She said that would affect 11 federally listed species and a designated critical habitat. Hofmeyr said the area was central to the survival of one of the last known wild jaguars in the United States.
The lawsuit filed in Tucson claims the Forest Service did not take all of the risks to wildlife into account.
