FWS to boost critical habitat for lynx

Posted by egable on February 28th, 2008 filed in Endangered species

The Fish and Wildlife Service today proposed to revise the amount of critical habitat designated under the Endangered Species Act for the federally threatened Canada lynx. The service is proposing to designate more than 42,000 square miles of habitat for the lynx in portions of Idaho, Maine, Minnesota, Montana, Washington and Wyoming — up from about 1,800 square miles of critical habitat designated in 2006.

The 2006 designation is one of eight endangered species decisions being revisited because of questions surrounding the scientific integrity of the agency’s decisions under the leadership of former Interior deputy assistant secretary Julie MacDonald.

FWS did not include the Southern Rockies in the proposal, citing the current uncertainty surrounding the Colorado Division of Wildlife’s reintroduction effort.