IUCN / SSC Cat Specialist Group - Digital Cat Library |
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| Hickenbottom, J.R.; Summerfield, B.; Aardahl, J.; Halekas, G.; Hilliard, M.; Jackson, L.; Prevedel, D.; Rupe, J. | |
| Biological assessment of the effects of National Forest Land and Resource Management Plans and Bureau of Land Management Land Use Plans on Canada lynx | |
| 1999 Full Book | |
The Canada lynx (_Lynx canadensis_) is proposed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) for listing as a threatened species under provisions of the Endangered Species Act (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service 1998a). Informal conferencing among FWS and USDA Forest Service (FS) and USDI Bureau of Land Management (BLM) began in the fall of 1998 under the direction of an interagency Lynx Steering Committee. As a part of this effort, a Science Report (Ruggiero et al. in press 1999a) and a draft Lynx Conservation Assessment and Strategy (Ruediger et al. in press 1999) have been prepared. Using these documents and other currently available scientific and commercial information, this Biological Assessment (BA) identifies the potential effects resulting from 57 FS Land and Resource Management Plans and 56 BLM Land Use Plans (collectively referred to as Plans) within the 16 state area where lynx are proposed for listing. Five geographic areas were considered: Cascade Mountains, Northern Rocky Mountains, Southern Rocky Mountains, Great Lakes and the Northeast. The Plans are assessed as written and amended, but not including any subsequent policy direction which has not been officially incorporated into the Plans. The BA makes a determination of effect based on the not likely/likely to adversely affect standard of the Endangered Species Act (ESA), which will serve as the basis for both _Lynx Biological Assessment, December 1999 _Page 2 of 149 conferencing and, if the lynx is listed, for formal consultation. The definitions used for determination of adverse effects are those specified in the FWS ESA Section 7 Consultation Handbook (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service 1998b) and Forest Service Manual 2670.5(1). The assessment of direct, indirect, and cumulative effects of the Plans was conducted at three scales: administrative unit (local), geographic area (regional), and distinct population segment (national). The assessment used two methods, as follows: 1. A questionnaire filled out by the 93 administrative units covering 113 Plans addressed in the analysis was used to determine how well the Plans directly or indirectly incorporate an array of programmatic lynx conservation measures recommended in the Lynx Conservation Assessment and Strategy (LCAS). 2. A geographic information system (GIS) analysis using currently available data was used to characterize historical and current lynx habitat with respect to habitat connectivity and likelihood for supporting lynx conservation. Inferences were drawn about how the Plans, as well as other cumulative effects, may potentially affect these factors. |
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