One of my biggest regrets is passing up an opportunity to see a Canada lynx in the wild. A wildlife biologist—and my future husband—invited me to watch the release of a lynx relocated from Canada into Rio Grande National Forest in Colorado to help reestablish a population in the Southern Rockies. I was a busy grad student 20 years ago, but apparently not very smart. I didn’t realize it might have been my only chance to see one in the wild.
Secretive and rare, this forest cat has been protected under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) as threatened since 2000. Though Colorado successfully restored lynx, the Southern Rockies population is small and vulnerable. Moreover, the U.S. Forest Service just weakened protections for the species on the Rio Grande National Forest—the most important forest in the Southern Rockies for lynx.
The Link Between Lynx and National Forests
Secretive and rare, this forest cat has been protected under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) as threatened since 2000. Though Colorado successfully restored lynx, the Southern Rockies population is small and vulnerable. Moreover, the U.S. Forest Service just weakened protections for the species on the Rio Grande National Forest—the most important forest in the Southern Rockies for lynx.
The Link Between Lynx and National Forests