Attorney General Reports Illegal Sawmills Shut Down Near Mexican Butterfly Reserve Yahoo! News
go to original May 29, 2015

Monarch butterflies are threatened by habitat reduction in Mexico, where they spend the winter after the long trek from northern climes. (Julie Oliver/Ottawa Citizen)

Mexico's environmental protection agency has shut down six illegal sawmills in an area near important wintering grounds for Monarch butterflies that migrate between Mexico and the United States.

The attorney general's office for environmental protection said in a statement that the clandestine operations were located in the Zitacuaro municipality of Michoacan state in the mountains west of Mexico City. Backed by marines, the environmental inspectors dismantled and seized the equipment.

They also seized cut timber from 21 trees taken from the indigenous community of San Felipe de los Alzati. The statement said bands of illegal loggers threaten property owners there and wreak havoc with timber resources.

Illegal logging is a federal crime with prison terms ranging from one to nine years.

See the original at Yahoo! News

We invite you to add your charity or supporting organizations' news stories and coming events to PVAngels so we can share them with the world. Do it now!