Hourly Update

Developer accused of harming land, destroying archaeological sites

PHOENIX - The state sued a developer Monday over accusations that he bulldozed pristine state trust land, destroyed archaeological sites and brought goats into an area where they infected desert bighorn sheep with a disease that left some blind. The suit against developer George H. Johnson and several of his companies seeks penalties for destruction of protected plants on state lands and for violations of clean water statutes, damages for trespassing on state lands, and damages for the death of 21 bighorn sheep. "The wanton destruction of Arizona's heritage resources by George Johnson is unprecedented," Arizona Attorney General Terry Goddard said in a statement. A call by The Associated Press to Johnson's office in Scottsdale, Ariz., was referred to attorney Lee Stein. The attorney released a statement that said the timing of the lawsuit was "puzzling and disturbing because we have been working with the various state agencies and the Attorney General's Office for over a year. "There was no indication that the Attorney General's Office believed it was left with no option but to file a lawsuit," Stein said in the statement. "Now, rather than working together to find a solution, we will battle in court." A statement from Goddard's office said Johnson and his companies illegally bulldozed and cleared approximately 270 acres of state trust lands located in and near the Ironwood Forest National Monument and Los Robles Archaeological District. "We are not talking about a few feet here and there, we are talking about moonscaping 270 acres over a period of many weeks, knocking down saguaros, filling in creeks and washes used by wildlife, and destroying priceless archaeological sites," Goddard said. Goddard said the defendants also bulldozed about 2,000 acres of private lands in the Santa Cruz River valley without obtaining permits required by state law and destroying portions of seven major Hohokam archaeological sites. He also said they violated clean water laws by "discharging pollutants" into the Little Colorado River and the south fork of the river. The lawsuit also alleges that goats brought into one area by Johnson escaped into southern Arizona's Silver Bell Mountains, where they infected bighorn sheep with pink eye and a viral infection known as sore mouth. Some of the rare bighorns were blinded and left vulnerable to malnutrition and predators, the attorney general's statement said. At least 21 died.