Canada Lynx Listed as " Threatened"

[Red Hawk]

Here is another article in the north american hunter mag.

Washington. DC.---The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) announced the Canada Lynx won' t be classified as an endangered spiecies, as defined by the Endangered Species Act (ESA), in the contiguous United States. The USFWS says the Lynx will remain listed as threatened under the ESA in Colorado, Idaho, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, New Hampshire, New York, Oregon, Utah, Vermont, Washington state, Wisconsin, and Wyoming. The USFWS says the announcment clarifes a finding made when the U.S. Lynx population was listed as threatened in March 2000.
Subsequent to the final listing, Defenders of Wildlife filed suit asserting listing the Canada lynx as threatened, rather then endangered, was arbitrary and capricious. It also challenged the USFWS finding regardling threats to the speices, identification of an single distint population segment and failure to designate critical lynx habitat. By court order, the USFWS was directed to reconsider its decision regarding the status of the lynx under the ESA. The court also ordered the USFW S to designate critical habitat for lynx, and prohibited certain determination associated with federally funded projects until critical habitat has been designated.Accordingly, the USFWS reanalyzed its March 2000, listing decision ande valuated new comment period. The re-analysis doesnt address critical habitat. Based on known threats to lynx and their habitats, the USFWS determined the lynx shouldn' t be listed as an edangered speices because of there' s no evidence indicating that the contigious U.S. Lynx population is in danger of extinction throughout all, or a significant portion, of its range
Threats to lynx on national forest and Bureau of Land Management (BLM) lands have been substantially allievated because these agencies are committed to using the Lynx Conservation Assessments and Strategy. Currently, the U.S. Forest Service and BLM are in the process of amending or revising land managment plans, which they say is necessary to provide long-term lynx conservation.