Court Approves Building Telescope on Arizona Peak

The University of Arizona has received approval from a federal appeals court to build a powerful telescope on a mountain that is home to an endangered subspecies of squirrel.

The Mt. Graham telescope had been blocked in 1994 by the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco, which ordered an environmental review. But Congress passed a law in April that included an amendment saying no further review was required.

The 9th Circuit, ruling 3 to 0 Monday, agreed with a lower court that said Congress had acted within its power.

Environmental groups claim that building the twin-mirror Large Binocular Telescope, one of the most powerful in the world, would destroy the only habitat of the Mt. Graham red squirrel. The 2-mile-high peak is in the Coronado National Forest, 100 miles northeast of Tucson.