A coalition of environmental groups led by Center for Native Ecosystems and represented by the Western Environmental Law Center, joined forces to protect Canada lynx in the lower 48 states.  The lynx was listed as "threatened" under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) in 2000 because Federal land management plans failed to conserve lynx habitat. Today, lynx and their habitat are still threatened by many activities including logging, snow compaction due to recreation, and road construction.

Last month, the Fish and Wildlife Service issued its final revised critical habitat designation to provide for the species’ recovery.  The final rule was released in response to a court order issued in 2007, after the Fish and Wildlife Service admitted that disgraced Department of Interior official Julie MacDonald inappropriately interfered in the original lynx critical habitat designation.  While the revised habitat designation vastly improves on the earlier rule in terms of the amount of lynx habitat it protects, significant portions of critical lynx habitat essential to the species’ recovery remain unprotected. 

In an effort to ensure that lynx receive the protection necessary for recovery, the conservation groups, which include Colorado Wild, Biodiversity Conservation Alliance, Great Old Broads for Wilderness, Wilderness Workshop, Alliance for the Wild Rockies, Friends of the Wild Swan, Native Ecosystem Council, the Sierra Club, and WildEarth Guardians, today notified the Department of the Interior that they will take legal action unless the habitat designation is fixed. The groups argue that the rule falls short of what biologists believe will be needed to ensure the species’ recovery.

Click here to read the press release and view related documents.