The litigious Defenders of Wildlife managed to stop an exploratory Sunnyside drilling project in the Coronado National Forest near the town of Patagonia. A federal district court in Tucson issued a ruling against the U.S. Forest Service for approving the project.
In December, the Sunnyside project was approved, but was halted when U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) listed the western yellow-billed cuckoo as a federally threatened species. The Forest Service temporarily withdrew approval until it completed consultation with the FWS to determine whether the project would significantly affect the cuckoo, according to the Defenders.
In April 2015, the Forest Service once again approved the project, allowing Regal Resources approval to operate drill rigs for at least five months. At the time, the USFS imposed an annual seasonal drilling moratorium on the Project extending from March 1 to September 30 to ensure that the breeding season of certain species of wildlife is not disturbed.