The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is currently considering an application by the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife for an incidental take permit for Canada lynx. The ITP would provide legal protection for the Department's trapping program and trappers who incidentally capture lynx, which are protected under the Federal Endangered Species Act. In return, the … [Read more...]
Reynolds on Lynx and the ESA
V. Paul Reynolds, outdoors columnist with Maine's Lewiston Sun Journal, and editor of the Northwoods Sporting Journal, wrote an engaging column about how the U.S. Endangered Species Act can make criminals of average folks. William McCoy of Pennsylvania was sentenced to jail time for accidentally killing a Canada lynx in northern Maine and then, out of panic, attempting to … [Read more...]
More on the Maine Lynx Lawsuit Resolution
Here's the press release from the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife: First Circuit United States Court of Appeals Upholds Maine’s Trapping Regulations The First Circuit United States Court of Appeals this week affirmed a lower federal court’s ruling that denied a request from two organizations seeking to permanently enjoin Maine’s trapping regulations. … [Read more...]
Maine Lynx Lawsuit Resolved
Here at TrappingToday, we've been following the Maine lynx lawsuit for quite some time. You can find background on the issue by visiting the lynx issues category page here. It finally appears that we have some closure to the issue and trappers, while having given up a lot in the process, have exited the process victorious over the animal rights activists. Here's an update … [Read more...]
Trapper Charged With Illegal Lynx Trapping
Hefty fines and some serious jail time could be in the future of a Pennsylvania man who reportedly caught a lynx in an illegal set while trapping in northern Maine. The Bangor Daily News has the story. In the winter of 2008, Maine was a hotbed of activity on the trapping front (read more here). A lawsuit filed by animal rights activist groups sought to ban many forms of … [Read more...]
Animal Rights Groups Appeal Ruling on Maine Lynx Lawsuit
When a federal judge ruled in favor of trappers in the Maine lynx lawsuit last month, there was no doubt that the animal rights groups would be back to contest the case. I just didn't think it would happen so soon. Just last Thursday, the Wildlife Alliance of Maine and the Animal Welfare Institute filed an appeal to the decision in the 1st Circuit Court of Appeals. Read more … [Read more...]
Logging, Lynx and Marten: How Forest Practices Can Influence Furbearer Numbers
In a state almost completely covered with trees, forest harvest practices in Maine can seriously influence populations of many of the furbearers that call the Maine woods home. Two such furbearers, the American marten and Canada lynx, depend on certain forest types for their survival. Lynx need 20-40 year-old successional forest that holds plenty of snowshoe hares (their main … [Read more...]
More on the Maine Lynx Lawsuit
Maine Trappers Win Major Court Victory (Columbus, Ohio) – Trappers in Maine won a major victory as the state’s Federal District Court upheld the state’s trapping practices and blocked the establishment of a precedent that could be used by anti-hunting and anti-trapping groups nationwide. In 2008, the Animal Welfare Institute and the Wildlife Alliance of Maine filed a lawsuit … [Read more...]