Three environmental groups filed suit against the feds yesterday, claiming that the U.S. Border Patrol is harming two species of endangered wildcats with its use of high-intensity lights and other tactics to prevent illegal border crossings. The enviros oppose expansion of Operation Rio Grande, a containment effort that involves brush removal, road paving, fencing, and the permanent installation of stadium lights along a 50-mile stretch of the Rio Grande River. The lights in particular disturb the nocturnal ocelots and jaguarundi, say the groups. The suit charges that the feds have violated the Endangered Species Act and the National Environmental Policy Act by not considering the impact of border enforcement activities on endangered species.
