Suit against Patagonia silver exploration

A group of environmental organizations is filing suit against Coronado National Forest in an attempt to halt exploration drilling on the Hardshell silver prospect [Right, location map. Credit, Wildcat Silver] by Wildcat Silver subsidiary Arizona Minerals on federal lands near the southern Arizona town of Patagonia.

The groups also want the Forest Service to require a full Environmental Impact Study done before drilling could commence. An EIS is normally only required if an actual mine is proposed to be developed. They claim the exploration area is a corridor for jaguars and ocelots. However, Wildcat rep Greg Lucero is quoted as saying "there has not been a jaguar sighting in the area in a half century, and that there has never been a sighting of an ocelot in the Patagonia Mountains."