Habitat Needs for Canada Lynx

Revised habitat plan ongoing for rarest of cats

The Canada lynx is the rarest of the three wild cat species in Washington. Outside Alaska, lynx populations in the United States have been reduced to a few remaining strongholds in the Rocky Mountains, northern Minnesota, Maine, and here, in the Columbia Highlands, in northeastern Washington State.

The Fish and Wildlife Service has released a revised habitat plan after a federal judge determined that its earlier version was politically tainted. Critical habitat designation does not prevent management activities, such as logging, from taking place in lynx habitat–but it requires that a biologist be at the table when land-use decisions are being made.

The agency accepted comments on its revised habitat plan through April 28, 2008. Though a dramatic improvement from the original, this draft still falls short of its objective to provide for the recovery of Canada lynx. We're urging inclusion for critical habitat in Washington's Kettle River Range (including the Wedge), and Selkirk Mountains (Little Pend Oreille and Salmo-Priest). These areas provide quality habitat, and there have been many recent lynx sightings in them. These areas were identified by scientists as important to lynx in the 2005 preliminary lynx assessment. The assessment also identified Washington’s southern Cascades and Blue Mountains as contributing to lynx recovery.

The mission of the Fish and Wildlife Service is not just to protect lynx where they are but to recover them across their range and consider including all lands necessary for recovery. This includes currently unoccupied habitat in addition to occupied habitat, to allow for increased numbers of lynx and their dispersal and movement across the state. Washington State is home to one of the last and largest lynx populations left in the United States but it may no longer be if adequate habitat is not protected for an animal that will be severely affected by climate change.