Canada lynx protections deal sealed by US and environmentalists
Biden administration reverses Trump-era decision saying cat population had sufficiently recovered
US wildlife officials have agreed to craft a new habitat plan for the snow-loving Canada lynx that could include more land in Colorado and other western states where the rare animals would be protected.
A legal agreement made public on Tuesday said that the US Fish and Wildlife Service faces a 2024 deadline to draft the new plan for the wild cats after settling a legal challenge from two environmental groups — Wild Earth Guardians and Wilderness Workshop.
US District Judge Dana Christensen issued an order late on Monday approving the settlement.
The groups sued to enforce a prior court ruling from Ms Christensen that said federal officials wrongly excluded areas of Colorado, Montana and Idaho when they designated almost 104,000 square kilometres in 2014 as critical for the lynx’s long-term survival.
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| Lynx kittens explore their home in the Bear Wood exhibit at the Wild Place Project |
On land designated as critical, federal agencies are required to consult with wildlife officials before taking or allowing any activities that could destroy or alter the habitats of a protected species. Those consultations can potentially lead to restrictions of logging in federal forests or limitations on dirt roads used for recreation.
Ms Christensen cited the presence of a reproducing lynx population in the southern Rocky Mountains of Colorado.
Agency officials had earlier concluded that Colorado and adjacent areas of Wyoming and New Mexico were “not essential” for the recovery of the species, pointing in part to low population densities of snowshoe hares that lynx eat.
To comply with the judge’s order, the Fish and Wildlife Service will evaluate which parts of the Southern Rockies and elsewhere are critical for lynx and propose them for potential protections by November 21, 2024, a statement provided by agency representative Joe Szuszwalak said.
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