The oft-debated Canada lynx is now teed up as one of the first high-profile Endangered Species Act dilemmas to greet the Trump administration’s Interior Department.
With the passing of a midnight Tuesday deadline, the Fish and Wildlife Service has more than 38,000 public comments to sift through as it plots potential changes to the lynx’s designated critical habitat.
The critical habitat has vexed federal officials for years, as has the overall status of the snow-loving bobcat relative. It is currently listed as threatened under the ESA, a position that some Westerners and prior Trump administration officials have disputed.
“Canada lynx populations in the contiguous U.S. do not meet the standards for a Distinct Population Segment and do not meet the criteria for Endangered Species Act listing,” Redge Johnson, director of Utah’s Public Lands Policy Coordinating Office, wrote on Jan. 22, adding that “the species therefore should not be listed under the ESA.”