Delay in lynx recovery
plan
spurs federal lawsuit
wallstreetjournal.com
associated press
BILLINGS, Mont. — Thirteen years after the government
listed Canada lynx as a threatened species, wildlife
advocates
on Thursday asked a federal judge to force the U.S.
Fish and
Wildlife Service to finish its long-awaited recovery plan
for the
snow-loving wild cats.
listed Canada lynx as a threatened species, wildlife
advocates
on Thursday asked a federal judge to force the U.S.
Fish and
Wildlife Service to finish its long-awaited recovery plan
for the
snow-loving wild cats.
Four groups represented by the Western Environmental
Law
Center allege the long delay on the part of the U.S. Fish
and
Wildlife Service violates federal law.
Law
Center allege the long delay on the part of the U.S. Fish
and
Wildlife Service violates federal law.
In a lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court in Montana, they asked
the court to set a date for the government to adopt a "road
map" that would detail
what's needed for lynx to recover.
While the government has taken steps to protect lynx since
their 2000 listing — including a 2009 designation of habitat
considered critical to the species' survival — the recovery
plan
has been on hold.
their 2000 listing — including a 2009 designation of habitat
considered critical to the species' survival — the recovery
plan
has been on hold.
That's in part because of lawsuits over the 39,000 square
miles of lynx habitat identified in Washington, Idaho,
Montana,
Wyoming, Minnesota and Maine, federal officials said.
It's also
due to the higher priority that's been given to other species
that
face more acute threats, they said.
miles of lynx habitat identified in Washington, Idaho,
Montana,
Wyoming, Minnesota and Maine, federal officials said.
It's also
due to the higher priority that's been given to other species
that
face more acute threats, they said.
But the plaintiffs in the case say the government
should be
pushing ahead on both the habitat and recovery
issues
simultaneously to keep the lynx from edging closer
to extinction.
should be
pushing ahead on both the habitat and recovery
issues
simultaneously to keep the lynx from edging closer
to extinction.
"Thirteen years is a long time to wait for something
that's really
an essential part of recovering a species," said Arlene
Montgomery with Friends of the Wild Swan in Big
Fork, Mont.
that's really
an essential part of recovering a species," said Arlene
Montgomery with Friends of the Wild Swan in Big
Fork, Mont.
The other plaintiffs in the case are Rocky Mountain
Wild,
San Juan Citizens Alliance and the Biodiversity
Conservation
Alliance.
Wild,
San Juan Citizens Alliance and the Biodiversity
Conservation
Alliance.
Canada lynx aren't listed as threatened in Alaska,
and it's
believed that they number only in the hundreds in
the Lower
48 states. Federal wildlife officials say the cats'
elusive
nature makes it hard to know for certain.
and it's
believed that they number only in the hundreds in
the Lower
48 states. Federal wildlife officials say the cats'
elusive
nature makes it hard to know for certain.
Its large, furry paws help the predator stay on top
of the
deep snows that are typical through its range —
and also
make it easier to capture the snowshoe hares that
are its
primary prey.
of the
deep snows that are typical through its range —
and also
make it easier to capture the snowshoe hares that
are its
primary prey.
Weighing about 20 to 30 pounds and roughly the
size of a
bobcat, the animals are rarely seen across a range
that
once covered 14 states. They're still found in
portions of
the Northeast, the Rocky Mountains, the western
Great
Lakes and the Cascade Range of Washington state.
size of a
bobcat, the animals are rarely seen across a range
that
once covered 14 states. They're still found in
portions of
the Northeast, the Rocky Mountains, the western
Great
Lakes and the Cascade Range of Washington state.
They were reintroduced to Colorado in 1999, under
a
program that state officials in 2010 declared as a
success.
Whether Colorado should be included as part of the
species' designated habitat is under review as the
result of a separate lawsuit.
a
program that state officials in 2010 declared as a
success.
Whether Colorado should be included as part of the
species' designated habitat is under review as the
result of a separate lawsuit.
In a March 6 letter to the Western Environmental Law
Center, the Fish and Wildlife Service said the agency
will start work on the recovery plan only after it submits
a new critical habitat rule by Sept. 30, 2014.
Center, the Fish and Wildlife Service said the agency
will start work on the recovery plan only after it submits
a new critical habitat rule by Sept. 30, 2014.
The agency also said additional litigation could prevent
that work from going forward.
that work from going forward.
Federal law "does not specify a time line for completion
of recovery plans," the letter said.
of recovery plans," the letter said.
Matthew Bishop, a Montana attorney who filed Thursday's
lawsuit, said habitat loss due to logging, climate change
and other factors remains a threat that needs to be dealt
with across the lynx's range.
lawsuit, said habitat loss due to logging, climate change
and other factors remains a threat that needs to be dealt
with across the lynx's range.
"A recovery plan would identify specific management
actions that need to occur to achieve recovery. Not
just survival, but recovery," he said.
lynx kittens
actions that need to occur to achieve recovery. Not
just survival, but recovery," he said.
lynx kittens
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