Final
Lynx Management on Federal Land
COMMITTEE ON
JOINT AGRICULTURE AND NATURAL RESOURCES
Votes:
Action Taken:
<none>
<none>
07:43 AM -- Lynx Management Plan on the White River National Forest
Jacob Smith, Center For Native Ecosystems, spoke in support of the State of Colorado's lynx recovery program. He also expressed concern about Dave Tenny, U.S. Department on Agriculture, discretionary review decision pertaining to the White River National Forest Revised Land and Resource Management Plan (Attachment A and B). Mr. Smith responded to questions from the committee regarding problems with Mr. Tenny's decision pertaining to habitat protection.
07:56 AM
Rick Cables, Rocky Mountain Regional Director, U.S. Forest Service, described the lynx protection programs of the U.S. Forest Service and the Colorado Division of Wildlife. He explained that the state and federal government began coordinating their lynx management programs in 1997 after submission of a petition to list the lynx as a threatened species under the federal Endangered Species Act. He also summarized Mr. Tenny's decision regarding the lynx program on the White River National Forest Service and explained how the DOW's data from its lynx reintroduction program will be used to determine future land management decisions for U.S.F.S. lands (Attachment B).
08:18 AM
Bruce McCluskey, Division of Wildlife (DOW), described the purpose of the DOW's lynx reintroduction programs including its efforts to identify lynx reproduction rates. He also identified sitings of lynx in Colorado (Maps A, B, C).
08:27 AM
Tom Blickensderfer, Colorado Department of Natural Resources Endangered Species Coordinator, identified deadlines and other provisions of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife's critical habitat designation process for lynx recovery in the southern Rockies.
08:40 AM
The meeting adjourned.