Posted on 10/18/2007 8:01:59 AM PDT by george76
Political bullying in original plan triggers review of cats’ protection.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service will revisit its Canada lynx-protection plan after acknowledging that a political appointee may have influenced scientific decisions.
The 2006 lynx-protection plan is one of eight decisions that may have been politically influenced by former Interior Department Deputy Assistant Secretary Julie MacDonald.
MacDonald resigned after the Interior Department's inspector general found she had "bullied, insulted and harassed the professional staff to change documents and alter biological reporting."
"We need to make sure that the final decisions are based on the science," said Diane Katzenberger, a Fish and Wildlife spokeswoman in Denver, on Wednesday.
No areas in Colorado were designated as critical habitat for lynx, but that too, will be re-evaluated.
"Everything will be reconsidered," Katzenberger said.
But in order for the federal agency to designate certain areas as critical habitat, the area must contain certain biological elements necessary for the recovery of the species, and when the southern Rockies were last evaluated, Colorado didn't qualify, she said.
"So unless something has changed, it would be unlikely that the southern Rockies would meet the criteria," she said.
The Colorado Division of Wildlife has been reintroducing the tuft-eared cats in the San Juan Mountains for almost 10 years.
(Excerpt) Read more at durangoherald.com ...
The nuts could not prove that the same animal was in several states at the same time but the public lands were closed anyway.
.
We call those, "hyper-lynx".
No comments from elf or alf...
Remember former Interior Department Deputy Assistant Secretary Julie MacDonald...?
Like it was yesterday.
I’m surprised the eco nuts didn’t try to convince everyone that one lynx just had a large territory. lol
Isn’t downtown Pagosa Springs where a truck crashed into the side of the feed store some years back? :)
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