Well, it looks like the Canada lynx will get widespread critical habitat designation after all.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced that it will expand the area of critical habitat for Canada lynx by more than 20 times, overruling a Bush Administration decision. The former administration concluded that landowners were already managing their land in such a way that Canada lynx were adequately protected, so the additional designation was not warranted.
The lynx, listed as a threatened species under the Federal Endangered Species Act, has been at the core of many controversial issues since it was listed (with no adequate scientific data or justification), including trapping rights, states’ rights, and private landowner activities.
The critical habitat designation is an extension of the ESA protection, and will add more restrictions to any activity within this designated area that requires a federal permit.
Lucky for many landowners within this area, however, is the fact that the federal government doesn’t have lots of involvement in private activities within these areas. For instance, very few projects in the northeastern U.S. timber industry have federal dollars attached to them. This may change, however, with a new administration in Washington D.C., and efforts to drastically expand government involvement in the private sector.
What does this mean for trappers? Well, critical habitat designation is just an additional obstacle to overcome if we ever want to see Canada lynx populations managed based on sound science rather than politics.
But I digress.
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