The Smokey Wire : National Forest News and Views
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Matthew posted this about litigation on the Rio Grande plan. The Canada lynx relies heavily on the Rio Grande National Forest in the Southern Rocky Mountains, which contains more than half the locations in Colorado where lynx are consistently found. But the population is in dire straits, and federal scientists predict that the lynx may … Read more
I’d like to highlight a very useful study that came across my desk, and thank scientists Olson, Squires, Roberts and Ivan, the funders of the research and the person who did this excellent writeup, and, of course, L. Olsen who did the amazing graphics. They found that the potential for conflict between lynx … Read more
In case you missed this news a month ago, the Fish and Wildlife Service has decided to propose delisting Canada lynx. The Canada lynx was listed as threatened in 2000 largely due to a lack of regulatory mechanisms on federal public lands, which is where a majority of the habitat for Canada lynx was believed … Read more
The following press release is from the Alliance for the Wild Rockies and Native Ecosystems Council. If anyone has any specific questions about this lawsuit, please direct those questions to the groups and people involved with the lawsuit. Thanks. – mk Two conservation groups, Alliance for the Wild Rockies and Native Ecosystems Council, filed a … Read more
According to Reuters, Chief U.S. District Judge Dana Christensen in Missoula, Montana “ordered U.S. wildlife managers on Wednesday to enlarge habitat protections in Idaho, Montana and Colorado for the Canada lynx, a rare wild cat that roams the Rockies and mountain forests of several other states.” Below is yesterday’s press release from the Alliance for the … Read more
This looks to have far-reaching effects on those National Forests within the “core habitats”. This looks like a forced settlement situation, where the Forest Service will probably pay dearly for their loss in court. http://cdn.ca9.uscourts.gov/datastore/opinions/2015/06/17/13-35624.pdf Interesting: Although the court granted summary judgment to Cottonwood and ordered reinitiation of consultation, it declined to enjoin any specific … Read more
According to this news article [emphasis added]: A judge on Friday blocked [the Fleecer Mountain] logging project in Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest and ordered two federal agencies to take another look at the effects on lynx, grizzly bears and elk that may be in the area…. U.S. District Judge Dana Christensen wrote in his ruling the … Read more
On May 16, 2013, U.S. District Court Judge Dana Christensen ruled in favor of conservation groups and found that the U.S. Forest Service violated the Endangered Species Act when it failed to consult with the U.S Fish and Wildlife Service to determine whether its region-wide management direction for the threatened Canada lynx would destroy or … Read more
This is a follow-up post to a few previous posts we had on the blog regarding Canada Lynx, including the fact that the US Fish and Wildlife Service hasn’t produced a recovery plan for Canada lynx, even though the species was listed as “threatened” 13 years ago. What follows is the press release from the … Read more
The following press release is from the Western Environmental Law Center and a coalition of wildlife advocacy groups, including Friends of the Wild Swan, Rocky Mountain Wild, San Juan Citizens Alliance, and the Biodiversity Conservation Alliance. -mk Missoula, MT – The Canada lynx was listed as threatened with extinction under the Endangered Species Act … Read more