A wildlife advocacy group is renewing legal threats against the state of Maine, claiming rules enacted last year to prevent accidental trapping of Canada lynx have failed to protect the threatened wildcats.

The Wildlife Alliance of Maine notified state officials on Wednesday that it plans to file suit in federal court within 60 days unless additional steps are taken to protect the lynx. A group called the Animal Welfare Institute has joined WAM in the threatened suit.

A different organization, the Animal Protection Institute, succeeded last year in pressuring the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife to restrict trap sizes allowed throughout northern areas of the state. Maine harbors the only known self-sustaining population of the wildcats left in the eastern U.S.

DIF&W agreed to ban larger foothold traps in northern Maine after a federal judge made clear that he believed the state was violating the Endangered Species Act by allowing trapping practices that could harm, harass and kill lynx.

But representatives of WAM and the Animal Welfare Institute claimed Wednesday that 2007 statistics demonstrate that those regulatory changes are inadequate. Eight lynx were caught in traps set for other species in less than 30 days during the 2007 season.

Six of the lynx were caught using legal traps under the October 2007 court-approved agreement. The remaining two lynx were in areas not covered by the more restrictive trapping rules. All of the lynx were apparently released alive, although the groups point out that no information is available about how the animals fared after release.

In a letter to state and federal officials, the two groups said more lynx were inadvertently trapped in less than 30 days with the new rules than in previous trapping seasons.

“Lynx are still being taken illegally in traps set for other animals, in traps smaller [than] those covered by the consent decree, and in areas not covered by the consent decree,” wrote Judith Brawer, an attorney for the two organizations.

“If DIFW refuses to take immediate action to protect lynx from traps, more lynx will be illegally taken, further violating the ESA, and thus we will be forced to pursue legal action before the start of the upcoming trapping season.”

In a statement, Daryl DeJoy with the Wildlife Alliance of Maine called the new regulations “woefully inadequate.”

Deborah Turcotte, spokeswoman for DIF&W, declined to comment on the threatened lawsuit and referred calls to the Attorney General’s Office. A representative for the office could not be reached for comment Wednesday afternoon.

There are an estimated 200 to 500 lynx in Maine. The wildcats can weigh 25 pounds and are distinguishable from bobcats in winter by large, fur-covered paws that allow the cats to stay atop the deep snow as they chase prey.

Biologists have cautioned that lynx may be declining due to a shrinking population of snowshoe hare, the cats’ main food source.

The lynx has been at the center of a number of lengthy legal battles in Maine and nationally. Environmental groups have sued the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to force the agency to designate critical habitat for the lynx under the Endangered Species Act.

The federal agency is redeveloping its critical habitat proposal after a previous plan, which exempted all of Maine, was tossed out after a political meddling scandal.

In the earlier lawsuit filed by the Animal Protection Institute, a federal judge urged the state to work with the trapping community and the two litigating organizations to find an amenable solution.

“I don’t think anyone here is accusing anybody of deliberately trapping lynx,” U.S. District Judge John Woodcock told the two teams of attorneys during a September 2007 court proceeding. “But if trappers are going out … and they accidentally or inadvertently take lynx, then that is a violation of the Endangered Species Act.”

kmiller@bangordailynews.net

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