US pulls plug on authorization for lithium exploration next to a national wildlife refuge in Nevada

By SCOTT SONNER
Associated Press

RENO, Nev. (AP) — Federal land managers have pulled the plug on a Canadian mining company’s lithium exploration project near a national wildlife refuge in southern Nevada. The decision comes after conservationists sought a court order to block the project. The Center for Biological Diversity and the Amargosa Conservancy filed a lawsuit July 7 challenging the plans. They say the project on the edge of the Ash Meadows National Wildlife Refuge posed an illegal risk to a dozen fish and plant species currently protected under the Endangered Species Act. The Bureau of Land Management notified Rover Meals Wednesday that its earlier acknowledgment of the company’s notice of its intent to proceed “was in error.”