Lynx: A Long Road to Protection
A Chronology of Efforts to Protect the Lynx Under The Endangered Species Act
·April 1994 The Biodiversity Legal Foundation and four individuals file a petition requesting protection for the lynx under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's (FWS) initial ruling and a subsequent review by its regional office indicated that the lynx should be protected.
·November 1994 The regional office's recommendation is overruled by the FWS director, who said that listing the lynx under the ESA was "not warranted," meaning the lynx was not in enough danger of extinction to need protection.
· January 1996 Thirteen conservation organizations, including Predator Conservation Alliance, and one individual sue the Fish and Wildlife Service to challenge the 1994 ruling.
· March 1997 U.S. District Court Judge Gladys Kessler sides with the conservation coalition and directs the Fish and Wildlife Service to issue a new decision on the lynx petition within 60 days.
· May 1997 The FWS responds with a "warranted but precluded" finding, thereby agreeing that the lynx was in need of protection, but claiming the agency had higher priorities than to protect the lynx under the ESA.
· September 1997 Predator Conservation Alliance and the other members of the conservation coalition respond with a new lawsuit to challenge the May finding.
· December 1997 Judge Kessler sides again with the conservation organizations in a memorandum-order that states, "The court shares all the concerns eloquently voiced by the Plaintiffs... the intensity of the Plaintiff's fear of delay [of listing] is well-founded."
· February 1998 The 13 conservation organizations reach a settlement in the lawsuit with the U.S. Departments of Justice and Interior on February 12, in which the federal government agrees to propose listing the lynx as "threatened" or "endangered" under the Endangered Species Act within the contiguous United States by June 30, 1998.
· July 1998 The FWS proposes to protect the lynx under the Endangered Species Act as a "threatened" species throughout the contiguous U.S. The Act requires that the Service make a final decision on this proposal within 12 months.
· July 1999 The Fish and Wildlife Service fails to meet the 12-month deadline to decide on its proposal to protect the lynx under the ESA, and instead obtains an "emergency" six-month extension.
· January 2000 The FWS misses the extended deadline to decide whether to list the lynx for protections under the ESA. Predator Conservation Alliance and other conservation groups file a Notice of Intent to Sue the agency for its failure to meet the deadline.
· March 2000 Predator Conservation Alliance, eleven other conservation groups, and one individual file suit against the Fish and Wildlife Service to force a decision on its proposal to protect the lynx under the ESA, having received no response from the agency during the sixty days since filing a Notice of Intent to Sue.
· March 2000 Fish and Wildlife Service designates the lynx as a "threatened" species under the Endangered Species Act.
