Washington Lynx Number Less Than 100 Limited Habitat Probably Never Supported More Than 300 Of The Cats

Canada lynx in Washington probably number only in the double digits, a recent state study concludes.

What’s more, the elusive cats may never have numbered more than 300, because they are limited to certain subalpine forests where their chief prey - the snowshoe hare - thrives.

“Yeah, there were probably more lynx (than current numbers). But they were never abundant like wolves and grizzlies and wolverines,” said Derek Stinson, endangered species biologist for the state Department of Fish and Wildlife.

Canada lynx, which are cousins to the bobcat, were placed on the federal list of endangered animals in March. That listing, which does not include Alaska, came nine years after Washington outlawed hunting and trapping lynx. It came seven years after the animal was added to the state list of threatened species.

Stinson is the author of Washington’s Canada lynx recovery plan, which primarily calls for more studies of the seldom-seen, nocturnal animal. The federal government has not yet produced a plan for managing the lynx across its range, which includes Eastern Washington, the northern Rocky Mountains, parts of the Great Lake states and northern New England. Colorado started a reintroduction program in 1999.

So little is known about lynx that there are few estimates of their numbers in other states. Some biologists believe Washington’s population is the largest south of Canada and Alaska, where the cat is abundant enough to allow trapping.

“They’re better-studied in Washington than they are in any other state, but that’s not saying very much,” said Stinson, who puts the state population at fewer than 100, “or fewer than 200 if you’re a real optimist.”

Stinson’s study lists lynx in Okanogan, Kittitas, Ferry, Stevens and Pend Oreille counties.

But there’s growing evidence that the animals also occupy Spokane’s backyard wilderness. Bill Birk, a member of the state’s interagency lynx committee, said he has seen a lynx in Mount Spokane State Park.

Birk, a retired Spokane Community College natural resources instructor, searched the park for lynx tracks 20 times last winter. Each time, he waited until a day after a snowstorm. He spotted tracks 12 times.

Working with a biologist from the state Department of Fish and Wildlife, Birk set out camera traps, but was unsuccessful getting a picture of a lynx.

The pair set out hair traps and collected feline hair they believe came from a lynx but hasn’t yet been subjected to DNA testing.

“Until we get a picture and DNA, it’s officially unconfirmed,” Birk said. “A sighting is not good enough.”

This sidebar appeared with the story: COMMENT PERIOD

The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife will accept comments on its draft recovery plan for Canada lynx through Oct. 1. The plan can be viewed on the Internet at www.wa.gov/wdfw/ wlm/diversty/soc/recovery/lynx/ lynx.htm.

Written comments can be mailed to: Derek Stinson, Endangered Species Section, Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, 600 Capitol Way N., Olympia, WA, 98501.