News Release, September 25, 2001
Contact: Andrea Poet, Communications Director or David Gaillard, Forest Associate (406) 587-3389.
Wide- Ranging Lynx to Get Better Land Management
Federal Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management officials are changing the way they manage 22 units of public land in the northern Rockies to conserve habitat for the threatened Canada lynx, and public meetings about the plan are now underway throughout the region.
It’s been over 25 years since a wide- ranging carnivore like the lynx has received habitat protection in the northern Rockies. In 1973, the wolf gained protections, and in 1975 parts of the grizzly bear’s range were protected.
The proposed reforms address several threats to the Canada lynx, including clear-cuts of trees and over-thinning of forests, harmful development and the fragmentation of habitat through roads or other uses. The lynx was listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act last year. When land-use and forest management plans were first developed in the 1980s, the lynx received little attention.
"These sorts of reforms of forest plans have been a long time coming," said David Gaillard, Forest Program Associate with Predator Conservation Alliance, a Bozeman, Mont.-based conservation group. "The needs of our native wildlife will start to be addressed in a comprehensive way."
The Canada Lynx, a wild cat closely related to the bobcat, has a range of about 50- to 80- square miles. It weighs about 15- to 25- pounds, has gray fur and a long tufts of fur on its ears. It has large, webbed fur-covered paws that act like snowshoes, allowing the lynx to travel across snowy terrain. The lynx depends on the snowshoe hare for most of its diet. There are an estimated 1,000 lynx in the lower 48 states; approximately half are in Montana.
Under the management proposal, 18 national forest plans, including the Beaverhead-Deerlodge, Bitterroot, Custer, Flathead, Gallatin, Helena, Kootenai, Lewis and Clark and Lolo in Montana; the
Bridger-Teton, Bighorn, Shoshone, Targhee and Ashley in Wyoming; and the Clearwater, Idaho Panhandle, Nez Perce and Salmon-Challis in Idaho. The Bureau of Land Management would amend 18 land-use plans, including all land in Idaho and those managed by the Salt Lake Field Office in Utah.
"The plans look promising. They aim to maintain the diversity of forests, and cover a lot of ground," Gaillard said.
The public meetings will be held across the northern Rockies, and public comment on the plan will be taken through Oct. 26. Written comments should be sent to the Northern Rockies Lynx Amendment, Jon Haber, Northern Region Headquarters, P.O. Box 7669, Missoula, Mont. 59807. The schedule of public meetings is attached.
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