Download Endangered Species Coalition 2015 Top 10 Report Nominating

Endangered Species Coalition 2015 Top 10 Report Nominating Form
General Information
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Nominating Organizations: Please use this Column to Provide the Requested Information
Organization & Web address
Contact name for species info
Address
Email & phone
Communications staff contact name
Email & phone
Rocky Mountain Wild, www.rockymountainwild.org
Paige Singer
1536 Wynkoop Street, Suite 900, Denver, CO 80202
[email protected], 303-454-3340
Same as above
Same as above
General Species Information
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Common name, genus, and species
Geographic range
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Conservation status
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Remaining population size
Canada lynx, Lynx canadensis
Alaska, Canada, and in the lower 48-states, the Northeast, Great Lakes, Northern Rocky
Mountains, Southern Rocky Mountains and the North Cascade Mountains
Listed as threatened under the ESA anywhere lynx are found in the lower 48 states (79
Fed. Reg. 54782-54846)
For the contiguous United States, “unknown but likely small” (USFWS 2013), likely
fewer than 2000 (NatureServe 2015)
Report Questions
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Do you have high-resolution photos that can
be used in the report?
Will you want printed reports? If so, how
many?
If your species is selected, will you use the
report as a tool to organize around the
species and/or publicize its plight?
Potentially
Yes, 2 please if our species is selected.
Yes
Public Engagement Questions (Please explain why the species is interesting, why it matters, why decision-makers + the public should care.)0
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Interesting facts about the species
Canada lynx have large feet covered with thick fur that creates a natural snowshoe,
allowing the cat to walk on top of deep, fluffy snow. This likely gives them an
advantage over other predators, such as bobcat and coyote, in the snowy, cold, high
altitude climates they require (ILBT 2013, Gonzalez et al. 2007).
Please cite any substantiating scientific studies
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Additional background information to
complete the species profile in the report
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What are the most important messages that
should be communicated about this species'
decline? Please be sure to indicate your
organization’s lead message that you would
like to be included in the report.
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Is your NGO working to save the species? If
yes, how? (Optional)
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How can individuals help? Please be as
specific as possible.
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Is there anything else that governments or
others could/should/are doing to save the
Lynx are medium sized cats with a grayish coat, large feet on long legs, a ruffed face,
long ear tufts and a short, solid black tipped tail. Lynx prefer subalpine coniferous
forests in the west and coniferous, mixed coniferous/deciduous forests in the Midwest
and east (ILBT 2013). Snowshoe hares and red squirrels are lynx primary and main
alternate prey species, respectively (ILBT 2013, Shenk 2009). Lynx are wide-ranging
animals with mean annual home range size reported up to 107 square miles for males
and 52 square miles for females (ILBT 2013).
Lynx are a wide-ranging species that are in dire need of connectivity, especially in the
face of a changing climate. These beautiful cats are dependent on high elevation
habitat with cold, snowy winters and connected landscapes for genetic exchange. As
temperatures rise with climate change, the snowpack and forests that lynx rely on are
predicted to move upward in altitude and northward in latitude. As their habitat shifts
upward in elevation, current lynx populations will likely become more isolated. Thus,
maintaining and restoring important movement corridors is critical in order to ensure
the long-term survival of the species.
Rocky Mountain Wild has long been a champion for lynx in the Southern Rockies
Region. The organization helped build public support for lynx reintroduction in the
region, challenges high-impact development projects in lynx habitat that would
irreversibly fragment or damage the habitat, and works to press the responsible state
and federal agencies to adequately protect lynx habitat, especially in light of global
warming. We have also pushed the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to complete a
recovery plan for the species and are currently working to build Colorado’s first wildlife
overpass over I-70 in a known movement corridor for lynx. Several other regional and
national organizations work hard to conserve this species and its habitat as well.
Support Rocky Mountain Wild and other organizations that are working to protect lynx
and their habitat in the lower 48-states. Contact the responsible agency to speak out
when irresponsible development and resource extraction is planned in sensitive lynx
habitat. Investigate trapping laws and their potential impacts on lynx in your home
state.
In response to the extirpation of lynx in the Southern Rocky Mountains, the Colorado
Division of Wildlife (now Colorado Parks and Wildlife) launched an ambitious and
Please cite any substantiating scientific studies
species?
popularly-supported reintroduction effort. Between 1999 and 2006, 218 lynx were
released in the San Juan mountains of southwestern Colorado. The reintroduced cats
have spread throughout the region and the restoration was a deemed a success in
2010 (CPW 2010). In order to ensure their continued survival in the Southern Rockies
and throughout the lower 48-states, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service should designate
critical habitat in the Southern Rocky Mountains and complete a recovery plan for the
species (they are under court order to complete one by 2018).
Criteria-specific Questions – Please feel free to answer N/A or “see above/below” as appropriate. Please cite any substantiating scientific studies.
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Describe the specific threat(s) to the species.
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Why is it in need of greater connectivity?
The updated 2013 Canada Lynx Conservation Assessment and Strategy outlines climate
change, vegetation management, wildland fire management and fragmentation of
habitat as the “4 anthropogenic influences that are of greatest concern to the
conservation of the lynx” (ILBT 2013). Climate change and habitat fragmentation are
perhaps the two most pertinent to this report. A warming climate may shift the
distribution of lynx and their prey, change snowshoe hare cycles, impact lynx habitat
and associated populations due to changes in precipitation and disturbance events,
influence demographic rates, and upset predator-prey relationships (ILBT 2013).
Climate change is likely to interact with, and potentially intensify, the impacts of the
other three identified threats (ILBT 2013); and a warming climate may also increase
bobcat occurrence in lynx habitat, potentially harming lynx recovery through increased
competition and interspecies hybridization (Schwartz et al. 2004). Habitat
fragmentation “describe[s] human-caused alterations of natural landscape patterns
that reduce the total area of habitat, increase the isolation of habitat patches, and
impair the ability of wildlife to effectively move between those patches of habitat”
(ILBT 2013).
Lynx are wide-ranging animals with mean annual home range size reported up to 107
square miles for males and 52 square miles for females (ILBT 2013). Schwartz et al.
(2002) found that gene flow in lynx populations is realized by the long distance
movement of dispersing animals. In fact, the species is thought to exist as a
metapopulation in the lower 48-states, meaning the population is made up of a
number of discrete isolated subpopulations that are connected and maintained by
dispersal from other subpopulations. Over time, the larger metapopulation endures as
Please cite any substantiating scientific studies
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Is its geographic range shifting?
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Is there concern around the cyclical/seasonal
life of the species and its interactions within
ecosystems?
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Does it have isolated populations?
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Is it at risk of low genetic diversity?
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How urgent is the need for greater
connectivity in order to conserve this
species? Does it face a current, imminent, or
future threat?
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Indicate if there is an associated political
threat. For instance, is this species being
actively attacked by an industry group or
member of Congress?
subpopulations come and go (McKelvey et al. 2000). Habitat fragmentation and
climate change have been identified by a team of interagency lynx experts as two of
the most concerning anthropogenic influences on lynx and their habitat (ILBT 2013),
and many leading lynx experts agree that lynx conservation should focus on minimizing
fragmentation and maintaining connectivity (Schwartz et al. 2002, Squires et al. 2013).
Yes, it is thought that lynx range is likely to shift northward in latitude and upward in
elevation in response to a changing climate (ILBT 2013; IPCC 2014; Gonzalez et al.
2007; Jacobson et al. 2009).
Yes, it is possible that climate change could affect the interaction between lynx and
snowshoe hares thought to exist in Canada and Alaska and potentially, to a lesser
extent, in the lower 48-states (ILBT 2013; Hodges 2000). According to the 2013 Canada
Lynx Conservation and Assessment Strategy, “[t]he loss of the hare cycle would likely
translate into a reduced potential for lynx to expand into new or unoccupied habitat in
Canada or the adjoining United States” (ILBT 2013).
Yes, it is thought that most lynx populations in the lower 48-states exist in habitat
types that are “either peninsular extensions of larger habitat areas in Canada or
discrete islands” (McKelvey et al. 2000).
Yes, Schwartz et al. (2003) found that periphery lynx populations had lower genetic
variation than core areas likely due to smaller population sizes and limited connections
to other populations. The contiguous U.S. seems to be considered the southern
periphery of lynx range (Schwartz et al 2002; Schwartz et al. 2003; ILBT 2013).
As a wide-ranging species, lynx rely heavily on the availability of connected landscapes
for their daily, seasonal and life needs. As many leading lynx experts agree that lynx
conservation should focus on minimizing fragmentation and maintaining connectivity
(Schwartz et al. 2002, Squires et al. 2013), the need for improved connectivity is an
urgent need for this species. This need will only magnify as humans continue to
encroach into wild places and the climate increasingly warms.
Not currently.
Please cite any substantiating scientific studies
Judge’s Score for Severity and Extent of Threat:
3
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Detail information on any social or economic
benefits the species provides—e.g., its value
for recreation or as a subject of scientific
research. (Optional)
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Detail the ecological importance of the
species (e.g., is it a keystone species?).
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Describe how the species could be
considered an "ambassador" or “flagship”
species to enlist public support for
conservation.
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Many people would say that having wildlife on the landscape affords many benefits
essential to their well-being. In 2011, roughly 54.9 billion dollars were spent
throughout the U.S. on expenditures associated with wildlife watching and
approximately 10.4 million people 16 years old and over participated in wildlife
watching of large land mammals away from the home (USDOI and USDOC 2011). As
such, it could be argued that lynx provide both social and economic benefits.
Lynx conservation is directly tied to forest management, so much that they were first
listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act due to an “inadequacy of
existing regulatory mechanisms, specifically the lack of guidance for conservation of
lynx and lynx habitat in Federal land management plans” (65 Fed. Reg. 16052-16086).
As an umbrella species for their forests habitats, conserving habitat for lynx will benefit
the multitude of other species that rely on the same ecosystem to survive.
Lynx are a wide-ranging species that epitomize the need for connectivity to be restored
or maintained on the landscape. In fact, Canada lynx has already served as the
“ambassador” or “flagship” species to enlist public support for conservation – the cats
are the mascot of Rocky Mountain Wild’s work to build an overpass on Vail Pass, stop
development on Wolf Creek Pass, and were chosen as the totem species for the
Southern Rockies portion of TrekWest, John Davis’s of the Wildlands Network 5,000
mile journey through wildlife corridors that connect the West from Mexico to the
Canada (http://www.twp.org/wildways/western-wildway/trekwest).
Judge’s Score for Importance of Species
Judge’s Final Score
Literature Cited:
CPW (Colorado Parks and Wildlife). 2010. DOW Declares Colorado Lynx Reintroduction Program a Success. Press Release. Available at
http://dnr.state.co.us/newsapp/Press.asp?PressId=6650 (Accessed: May 28, 2015)
Gonzalez, P., R. P. Neilson, K. S. McKelvey, J. M. Lenihan, and R. J. Drapek. 2007. Potential impacts of climate change on habitat and conservation
priority areas for Lynx canadensis (Canada lynx). Report to the Forest Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Washington D.C., and NatureServe,
Please cite any substantiating scientific studies
Arlington, Virginia. 19 pp.
Hodges, K. E. 2000. Ecology of snowshoe hares in southern boreal and montane forests. Pages 163–206 in L. F. Ruggiero, K. B. Aubry, S. W. Buskirk,
G. M. Koehler, C. J. Krebs, K. S. McKelvey, and J. R. Squires, editors. Ecology and conservation of lynx in the United States. University Press of
Colorado. Boulder, Colorado, USA.
ILBT (Interagency Lynx Biology Team). 2013. Canada lynx conservation assessment and strategy. 3rd edition. USDA Forest Service, USDI Fish and
Wildlife Service, USDI Bureau of Land Management, and USDI National Park Service. Forest Service Publication R1-13-19, Missoula, MT. 128 pp.
IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change). 2014. Summary for policymakers. In: Climate Change 2014: Impacts, Adaptation, and Vulnerability.
Part A: Global and Sectoral Aspects. Contribution of Working Group II to the Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate
Change [Field, C. B., V. R. Barros, D .J. Dokken, K. J. Mach, M. D. Mastrandrea, T. E. Bilir, M. Chatterjee, K. L. Ebi, Y. O. Estrada, R. C. Genova, B.
Girma, E. S. Kissel, A. N. Levy, S. MacCracken, P. R. Mastrandrea, and L. L. White (eds.)]. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, United Kingdom
and New York, NY, USA, pp. 1-32. http://ipccwg2.gov/AR5/images/uploads/WG2AR5_SPM_FINAL.pdf
Jacobson, G. L., I. J. Fernandez, P. A. Mayewski, and C. V. Schmitt, editors. 2009. Maine’s climate future: an initial assessment. University of Maine,
Orono, Maine, USA.
McKelvey, K. S., S. W. Buskirk, and C. J. Krebs. 2000. Theoretical insights into the population viability of lynx. Pages 21-38 in Ruggiero, L. F., K. B.
Aubry, S. W. Buskirk, G. M. Koehler, C. J. Krebs, K. S. McKelvey, and J. R. Squires, (eds.). Ecology and conservation of lynx in the contiguous United
States. University Press of Colorado, Boulder, Colorado.
NatureServe. 2015. NatureServe Explorer: An online encyclopedia of life [web application]. Version 7.1. NatureServe, Arlington, Virginia. Available at
http://explorer.natureserve.org. (Accessed: May 28, 2015).
Schwartz. M.K., K.L Pilgrim, K.S. McKelvey, E.L. Lindquist, J.J. Claar, S. Loch, and L.F. Ruggiero. 2004. Hybridization between Canada lynx and
bobcats: Genetic results and management implications. Conservation Genetics 5: 349-355.
Schwartz, M. K., L. S. Mills, K. S. McKelvey, L. F. Ruggerio, and F. W. Allendorf. 2002. DNA reveals high dispersal synchronizing the population
dynamics of Canada lynx. Nature 415: 520-522.
Schwartz, M. K., L. S. Mills, Y. Ortega, L. F. Ruggerio, and F. W. Allendorf. 2003. Landscape location affects genetic variation of Canada lynx (Lynx
canadensis). Molecular ecology 12: 1807-1816.
Please cite any substantiating scientific studies
Shenk, T.M. 2009. Post-release monitoring of lynx reintroduced to Colorado. Period covered: July 1 2008 – August 31, 2009. Wildlife research report,
Colorado Division of Wildlife. 16pp. Available at:
http://cpw.state.co.us/Documents/WildlifeSpecies/SpeciesOfConcern/Lynx/Reports/LynxAnnualReport2008-2009.pdf (Accessed: May 28, 2015).
Squires, J. R., N. J. DeCesare, L. E. Olson, J. A. Kolbe, M. Hebblewhite, and S. A. Parks. 2013. Combining resource selection and movement behavior to
predict corridors for Canada lynx at their southern range periphery. Biological Conservation 157:187–195.
USDOI, USFWS and USDOC, USCB (U.S. Department of the Interior, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and U.S. Department of Commerce, U.S. Census
Bureau). 2011. 2011 National Survey of Fishing, Hunting, and Wildlife-Associated Recreation. Revised February 2014.
USFWS (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service). 2013. Canada Lynx Lynx Canadensis. Fact Sheet. Available at http://www.fws.gov/mountainprairie/species/mammals/lynx/CandaLynxFactSheet_091613.pdf
(Accessed: May 28, 2015).
Please submit to [email protected], and thank you for participating in the 2015 Top 10 Report.
Please cite any substantiating scientific studies