We have to dub Idaho the state with the most fear of wildlife in the lower 48..............Paranoia seems to run deep regarding all animals that are meat eaters...............First Wolves,,,now Lynx............with the Center for Biological Diversity, Friend of the Clearwater and Western Watersheds Project about to sue the state for allowing the accidental trapping of the the federally protected "cat", thought to number no more than 100 in Idaho

Idaho on notice over trapping of rare lynx - The Spokesman Review

Idaho on notice over trapping of rare lynx

A captured 17-pound female lynx in the Idaho Panhandle's West Cabinet Mountains, Jan. 27, 2014. A satellite tracking collar will allow biologists to determine the animal's home range, assess reproductive status, and provide land managers with important information of how lynx use the local landscape. (Photo courtesy of Michael Lucid / Idaho Department of Fish and Game )

By Becky Kramerbeckyk@spokesman.com(208) 765-7122

Small numbers

As few as 100 of the lynx are believed to remain in Idaho.

Three conservation
groups
 plan to sue the
state of
Idaho over its
 trapping
regulations, saying they
don’t do enough to prevent
 incidental trapping of federally
 protected Canada lynx.

Surging prices for bobcat pelts, driven by
 demand for fur
in Asia, have led to an increase in
recreational trapping in
the state, according to the 60-day notice
 of intent to sue
filed Monday by the conservation groups.

At least three lynx have been caught by
bobcat trappers
in the past two years, with the most recent
incident occurring
in January in the Cabinet Mountains. Two
of the lynx were
 released alive; one was killed after the
trapper mistook it
for a bobcat.

“Many Canada lynx have been trapped
 incidentally while
 targeting bobcat and coyotes,” said the
intent to sue notice,
 which quoted a 1998 report from the
Bureau of Land
 Management and the U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service.

As few as 100 of the lynx are believed
 to remain in Idaho,
 primarily north of the Salmon River
 to the west, and north
 of the Caribou Range to the east.
The secretive forest cats
 have been protected under the
Endangered Species Act
since 2000.

The notice was filed by the Center
for Biological
Diversity, Western Watersheds
Project and Friends
of the Clearwater. It names Gov.
Butch Otter; Virgil
Moore, director of the state Fish
 and Game department;
and the Fish and Game Commission’s
 seven members.

The conservation groups said state
officials could address
the problem by altering trapping
regulations. They want
 the department to outlaw lethal
traps, step up monitoring
and require a daily trap check in
lynx habitat. If the changes
 aren’t made, the groups said they
plan to file a federal
lawsuit.

State officials could not be
reached for comment
Monday night.