Wildlife Groups Sue Over Imperiled Lynx's Habitat
BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) - Wildlife advocates sued the federal government Monday after it declined to designate some areas in the West as critical habitat for the imperiled Canada lynx.
WildEarth Guardians and three other groups assert that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service improperly excluded the southern Rocky Mountains of New Mexico and Colorado from 39,000 square miles of protected habitat for the elusive, forest-dwelling wild cat.
The plaintiffs, who filed the lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Missoula, Montana, also say the agency left out important habitat in portions of Washington state, Idaho, Montana and Oregon.
The lawsuit asked the court to strike down the government's September finding and send the issue back to federal wildlife officials for reconsideration.
There is no reliable population estimate for the animals, which first gained federal protections as a threatened species in 2000.
Protections were extended to lynx in New Mexico in September. But officials decided at the time that potential lynx habitat in the southern Rockies of New Mexico, Colorado and portions of Wyoming were not areas essential to conservation of the species.
That means lynx in those areas will be protected from hunting and trapping, but there will be less stringent reviews of human activities that could affect the dense forests they need to survive.
Government biologists said they focused on areas where lynx can persist over the long term.
The animals may show up elsewhere - either as transients from populations elsewhere or, in the case of Colorado, after being introduced by humans - but officials said that doesn't mean they will survive.
