NRS Prevails in Affirmative Litigation Involving Arizona’s Unauthorized Installation of Shipping Container Barriers

NRS Prevails in Affirmative Litigation Involving Arizona’s Unauthorized Installation of Shipping Container Barriers on Federal Property at the International Border with Mexico.

In August 2022, the State of Arizona began constructing "walls" composed of multi-ton shipping containers on federal lands along the Arizona-Mexico border, without authorization from the federal agencies charged with administering those lands. The State's construction impacted lands and projects managed by the U.S. Forest Service and U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, destroying trees, filling drainages, and blocking wildlife passages. It also interfered with agency missions, including easements held by the U.S. Section of the International Boundary and Water Commission (IBWC), which monitors certain United States' treaty obligations with Mexico. The Natural Resources Section filed an affirmative lawsuit against Arizona for trespass and constitutional violations, leading Arizona to immediately stop the installation project and to remove all the shipping containers from federal lands. While removing all shipping containers from United States’ properties, Arizona completed extensive remediation work on National Forest lands and subsequently paid the United States more than $2.1 million dollars to allow the U.S. Forest Service to complete additional remediation and revegetation work along the border. Based on these positive results, NRS voluntarily dismissed its lawsuit in September 2023. Senior Trial Attorneys Andrew Smith and Shaun Pettigrew and Trial Attorney Tyler Alexander prosecuted the cases. Read the Press Release. 

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