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Lynx in New Mexico in Legal Limbo, Groups Sue to Protect the Rare Cats in the Southwest
WELC filed suit today on behalf of a coalition of groups to force the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service to provide legal protection for lynx crossing from Colorado where they are listed as a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act (ESA), into New Mexico where they are not protected at all under the ESA. “Time is of the essence,” said WELC attorney Matthew Bishop. In 2007, WELC filed a petition to provide protective status to lynx entering New Mexico from successful reintroduction programs in Colorado. The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service has still not acted on a WELC’s petition.