[sistergoldenhair]

admitted they planted the samples and said they wanted to test whether the lab could identify lynx fur.

What? They were worried that the previous data might not be accurate?

They said if it is found that the intent was to skew the study
the agency is confident the lynx count has not been tainted

Too late. This study is now junk.
No amount of review of the data will ever prove it is accurate.
Can them! This type of falsification of data should not be tolerated by the scientific community.
May they never find a job in their selected field again.

[L.N. Smithee]

They said if it is found that the intent was to skew the study the agency is confident the lynx count has not been tainted

And when Winona Ryder was caught shoplifting, she was only doing research for a future role.