FWP sued for allowing trapping in lynx habitat

Environmental groups have sued Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks to stop certain trapping methods in lynx habitat. The federal lawsuit claims lynx end up being caught and sometimes killed in the process, in violation of the Endangered Species Act.

Friends of the Wild Swan, Wildearth Guardians and The Alliance for the Wild Rockies want FWP to curtail trapping in portions of Carbon, Flathead, Gallatin, Glacier, Granite, Lake, Lewis and Clark, Lincoln, Missoula, Park Pondera, Powell, Stillwater, Sweetgrass and Teton counties that contain critical lynx habitat.

The lawsuit could impact trapping of other animals, like wolves and coyotes. Lynx, which were listed as “threatened” under the ESA in 2000, can be attracted to traps set for those animals, and a wolf trap would certainly hold a lynx.

Since 2001, the plaintiffs claim, there have been nine incidents of lynx being caught in traps set for other species, like wolverines and bobcats. Four of those trapped lynx died.

Montana trapping regulations prohibit lynx trapping but do allow trapping for bobcats. The wolverine trapping season was put on hold this year after a similar lawsuit claimed trapping hurt wolverine populations. The wolverine is being considered for listing under the ESA.

Lynx feed almost exclusively on snowshoe hares and are fairly rare in Montana. There is no accepted population estimate, but the plaintiffs say it’s about 300.

Federal research on radio-collared lynx in Montana show they die in a variety of ways. A 2006 study of 49 lynx found that incidental trapping or shooting caused 8 percent of deaths, predation from other species was 31 percent and starvation was 29 percent. Unknown causes amounted to 22 percent of deaths.

The plaintiffs hope to force FWP into modifying its trapping and snaring regulations to make them more compliant with the ESA.

But FWP spokesman Ron Aasheim said the department modified its trapping regulations in 2006. The agency changed rules for trapping pine marten to avoid catching lynx, and wolf trappers must set the pan tension on their traps to eight pounds to avoid catching lynx.

Since those regulations were put in place, only one lynx has been caught in a trap, according to FWP records. That lynx was caught in trap set for bobcat. In their first year, wolf trappers did not report a lynx caught in their traps this season.

In a separate lawsuit filed against the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Department of Interior last month, Friends of the Wild Swan, Rocky Mountain Wild, Biodiversity Conservation Alliance and San Juan Citizens Alliance claimed the agencies never fully formulated a recovery plan for lynx.

In both lawsuits, the plaintiffs claim recent data suggests lynx populations in Montana are in decline.