Revised habitat plan ongoing for rarest of cats

The Canada lynx is one of 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 for 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 is now accepting comments on its revised habitat plan, which though a dramatic improvement from the original draft still falls short of its objective to provide for the recovery of Canada lynx. You can help. Send a comment online by April 28, 2008. The agency is not accepting email or faxes. All comments submitted electronically must go through the federal eRulemaking Portal, www.regulations.gov.

Please send us a copy of your letter. And thanks for taking time for lynx; the agency is not making our ability to comment  easy.

Sample letter to the US Fish and Wildlife Service

Division of Policy and Directives Management
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
4401 N. Fairfax Drive, Suite 222
Arlington, VA 22203

Thank you for taking another look at the lynx critical habitat plan. The latest draft is a significant improvement, but still falls short in some important areas.

Please designate 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.

Since the mission of the Fish and Wildlife Service is not just to protect lynx where they are but to recover them across their range, please 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. I am proud of the fact that Washington State is home to one of the last and largest lynx populations left in the United States.

Sincerely,