In an attack on science, conservation, and the law, the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (USFWS) announced their intent to remove Endangered Species Act protections from Canada lynx nationwide.
Canada lynx were protected under the Endangered Species Act in 2000. Despite that, the USFWS has yet to establish a recovery plan. Secretary Zinke's call for delisting is in contrast to recommendations from the Services's own biologists calling for an increased need for protections for the lynx.
The proposed delisting is not motivated by science or research showing that these lynx no longer need protection, but is instead an attempt to avoid a court-imposed deadline to produce a recovery plan. Rather than meet that deadline, the USFWS has opted to unilaterally declare that this species does not need to be protected at all.
Canada lynx need the protections of the Endangered Species Act. Their habitat is being lost due to development, increased recreational traffic, trapping, and climate change. Tell Interior Secretary Zinke and the USFWS to reconsider their plan to abandon this species and to instead keep Canada lynx protected.
TO: Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke; USFWS Principal Director Greg Sheehan
I am alarmed to learn that the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service is moving to delist Canada lynx despite having no accurate knowledge of their population and the existence of ongoing threats to their recovery.
It appears based on the USFWS's timing that rather than following science and the law, it is attempting to avoid its court-ordered responsibility to produce a recovery plan and is declaring this species "recovered" without any data suggesting it is so.
This willful abandonment of lynx not only disrespects the will of the court and makes a mockery of the USFWS's role in carrying out the Endangered Species Act, but jeopardizes the future of Canada lynx in our nation.
Please reconsider this decision and maintain protections for Canada lynx under the Endangered Species Act.