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Counties Want Out of Federal Lynx Plan: ENVIRONMENT:St. Louis County is Working on Its Own Management Plan for Tax-Forfeited Land That Would Include Lynx Habitat Planning, Officials Say.

Posted on: Saturday, 6 May 2006, 06:02 CDT

By Lee Bloomquist, Duluth News-Tribune, Minn.

May 6--St. Louis County is joining two other Northeastern Minnesota counties in seeking exemption from a court-ordered U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service plan that would designate critical habitat for Canada lynx.

"My position is that we are already considering lynx management within all of our lands," said St. Louis County Land Commissioner Robert Krepps. "We have been active in forest management for 25 to 30 years, and we are creating habitat under forest management practices. We know that lynx are there and reproducing on county land."

The Fish and Wildlife Service's boundaries plan for Canada lynx critical habitat is to be published Nov. 1.

The plan designates nearly 27,000 square miles across several states as key areas for lynx. Included in Minnesota is about 3,546 square miles in St. Louis, Cook, Lake and Koochiching counties.

In 2000, the Canada lynx was listed as threatened.

The listing required the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to formulate a critical habitat designation plan. The service later found that it couldn't determine what type of habitat was critical for lynx. Environmental groups sued the agency and won in federal court.

About 465,000 acres of state tax-forfeited land in St. Louis County would be included in the protected area.

Most of the Superior National Forest -- which already has specific lynx management plans in place -- is excluded from the plan. Voyageurs National Park and tribal lands also could be excluded, leaving only state, county and private land affected.

Over the last several decades, St. Louis County has created significant acres of habitat for snowshoe hare, a primary food for lynx, through its logging programs, Krepps said.

In about three months, St. Louis County also will unveil a comprehensive management plan for all tax-forfeited land that would include lynx habitat planning, Krepps said.

"A lot of what was done 10 to 15 years ago is already good habitat for lynx," Krepps said. "And we will ensure through our long-term management plan that lynx is a species that will be recognized and given that recognition in our management."

A letter opposing the designation for state tax-forfeited lands within the county was approved this week by the County Board and sent to fish and wildlife officials in Montana.

All of the area in Northeastern Minnesota proposed to be included in the federal plan is east of Highway 53.

Cook and Lake counties already have filed letters seeking exemption, said Phil Delphey, a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service endangered species biologist in the Twin Cities.

Economic development projects within critical designation areas that require action from federal agencies could be affected. An economic impact analysis is under way, said Delphey.

"In addition to the counties, timber companies and mining companies are also going to request that they be excluded," said Delphey. "We are going to take a careful look at each request."

The Natural Resources Research Institute in Duluth is monitoring lynx population and movement.

Since 2003, 33 lynx have been live-trapped in Northeastern Minnesota and collared with radios. The 33 lynx have been tracked to 15,000 locations, said Ron Moen of the NRRI. Another 35 to 40 lynx have been identified through DNA, he said.

"What we've found is that the male lynx are moving back and forth between Minnesota and Canada," said Moen. "The ones that have been collared here make one to three trips to Ontario per year."

Because lynx are small and highly mobile, it's hard to know exactly how many are in Minnesota. However, he estimates the population at 150 to 200.

"The county does have a point," Moen said of its request for exemption. "We have had animals in county forests. It's not like the lynx are avoiding them."

Land in Idaho, Maine, Montana and Washington also are included in the federal plan.

Lynx are protected in all areas. Anyone who kills a lynx is guilty of a federal offense.

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Copyright (c) 2006, Duluth News-Tribune, Minn.

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Source: Duluth News-Tribune (Duluth, Minn.)

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