<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 border=0><TBODY><TR><TD></TD></TR><TR><TD class=articleBody align=left>On different frequencies
Radio-collared Canada lynx are stuck in the middle as the USDA, forgoing state data, is ordering strong protections scrapped.
By Theo Stein
Denver Post Staff Writer
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
Wednesday, February 23, 2005
Tracking surveys of radio-collared Canada lynx show the shy cats have been located hundreds of times inside the White River National Forest since the state reintroduced them to southern Colorado in 1999. Yet a top U.S. Department of Agriculture official in December ordered forest officials to scrap strong lynx protections in the new management plan for the forest based on the "lack of documented lynx sightings."
Ongoing state studies show lynx were recorded within the 2.3-million-acre forest at least 300 times. Biologists identified 43 individual animals - including two females that denned on the forest's southern boundary last year - based on their unique radio-collar frequencies.
"From our standpoint, that's a highly significant area," said Rick Kahn, the Colorado Division of Wildlife's wildlife-program manager.
On Tuesday, David Tenny, deputy undersecretary of the USDA, said that until a regional lynx plan is finished, White River National Forest officials should consult with the state to evaluate whether projects - from ski-area expansion to thinning - could affect lynx habitat.
Tenny said his decision to overturn the lynx portion of the 2002 White River plan was based on information that was available in 2000, when the new plan was being developed.
No one at the Division of Wildlife was contacted about more recent lynx data, Tenny said, because the state had appealed.
"When deciding an appeal, you really don't consult with an appellant," Tenny said.
He ordered the White River lynx rules set aside to make them consistent with regional regulations under development.
The forest's rules were based on an assessment developed by biologists to ensure the survival of lynx, which are listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act. Colorado's reintroduced lynx are considered an "experimental, nonessential" population.
Last February, the Forest Service released a draft blueprint for managing lynx in the southern Rockies, excluding the White River forest, that contained exemptions for oil and gas exploration, transmission lines and forest health projects.
That regional plan, agency planners acknowledged, could damage lynx habitat and not significantly improve the cat's chances for survival in the southern Rockies.
The White River forest was excluded because lynx were addressed in the management plan nearing completion.
Until the regional plan is finished, Tenny has instructed White River forest managers to apply the overturned standards "where there is clear, documented evidence" of lynx activity.
The use of the forest by lynx appears to be increasing as the cats recolonize the mountainous western portions of the state, added Kahn of DOW.
Environmental groups criticized Tenny for ignoring the state lynx data.
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Radio-collared Canada lynx are stuck in the middle as the USDA, forgoing state data, is ordering strong protections scrapped.
By Theo Stein
Denver Post Staff Writer
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
Wednesday, February 23, 2005
Tracking surveys of radio-collared Canada lynx show the shy cats have been located hundreds of times inside the White River National Forest since the state reintroduced them to southern Colorado in 1999. Yet a top U.S. Department of Agriculture official in December ordered forest officials to scrap strong lynx protections in the new management plan for the forest based on the "lack of documented lynx sightings."
Ongoing state studies show lynx were recorded within the 2.3-million-acre forest at least 300 times. Biologists identified 43 individual animals - including two females that denned on the forest's southern boundary last year - based on their unique radio-collar frequencies.
"From our standpoint, that's a highly significant area," said Rick Kahn, the Colorado Division of Wildlife's wildlife-program manager.
On Tuesday, David Tenny, deputy undersecretary of the USDA, said that until a regional lynx plan is finished, White River National Forest officials should consult with the state to evaluate whether projects - from ski-area expansion to thinning - could affect lynx habitat.
Tenny said his decision to overturn the lynx portion of the 2002 White River plan was based on information that was available in 2000, when the new plan was being developed.
No one at the Division of Wildlife was contacted about more recent lynx data, Tenny said, because the state had appealed.
"When deciding an appeal, you really don't consult with an appellant," Tenny said.
He ordered the White River lynx rules set aside to make them consistent with regional regulations under development.
The forest's rules were based on an assessment developed by biologists to ensure the survival of lynx, which are listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act. Colorado's reintroduced lynx are considered an "experimental, nonessential" population.
Last February, the Forest Service released a draft blueprint for managing lynx in the southern Rockies, excluding the White River forest, that contained exemptions for oil and gas exploration, transmission lines and forest health projects.
That regional plan, agency planners acknowledged, could damage lynx habitat and not significantly improve the cat's chances for survival in the southern Rockies.
The White River forest was excluded because lynx were addressed in the management plan nearing completion.
Until the regional plan is finished, Tenny has instructed White River forest managers to apply the overturned standards "where there is clear, documented evidence" of lynx activity.
The use of the forest by lynx appears to be increasing as the cats recolonize the mountainous western portions of the state, added Kahn of DOW.
Environmental groups criticized Tenny for ignoring the state lynx data.
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