Highway densities are a contributing factor in the decline of carnivores, including the lynx, in the contiguous United States (Ruediger 1996).

Bill Ruediger, Threatened, Endangered, and Sensitive Species Program Leader for the Northern Region of the U.S. Forest Service, explains the problem of landscape fragmentation due to transportation corridors and associated developments on the wolverine and other wide-ranging forest carnivores (1996):

"Landscapes required to sustain populations of mid and large sized carnivores are unknown – but likely immense when considering expanding human populations. World Wildlife Fund (Paquet,. 1995) and the Western Forest Carnivore Committee estimate that a funtional ecosystem for carnivores in the Northern Rocky Mountains probably needs to include a landscape from west-central Wyoming to mid British Columbia and Alberta. In such a situation, carnivores would be required to cross at least 4 highways in Wyoming, 17 highways in Idaho (including 2 Interstates), 23 in Montana (including 2 Interstates), and 17 in British Columbia and Alberta (including the TransCanada Highway). This totals 61 highways for one population of carnivores. The Region is experiencing increased tourism, commercial and residential traffic volumes, and highways are being upgraded and added to the system at an unknown rate."