ENDANGERED SPECIES ACT PROFILE

PROTECTION STATUS: Threatened

YEAR PLACED ON LIST: 2000

CRITICAL HABITAT: Approximately 39,000 square miles in Maine, Minnesota, Montana, Wyoming, Idaho, and Washington designated in 2009

RECOVERY PLAN: None

RANGE: The forested portions of Colorado, Idaho, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, New Hampshire, New York, Oregon, Utah, Vermont, Washington, and Wisconsin (contiguous U.S. distinct population segment)

THREATS: Trapping; habitat destruction due to deforestation, fire suppression, and human intrusion; snowmobiling; global warming; and expansion of the range of competing predators such as bobcats and coyotes

POPULATION TREND: The Canada lynx’s complex life history and population dynamics — as well as a general lack of reliable data — make estimating the species’ population trend difficult, but it is known that the lynx occurs in drastically reduced numbers throughout its range. Populations are thought to have been in decline since the early 1900s.