Post by: Ridgeratt on March 11, 2022, 08:06:04 AM
Eli Francovich / The Spokesman-Review
In mid-October 1963, a young woman hunting grouse north of Newport, Washington, shot what she thought was a bobcat.
She was wrong. She had in fact killed a Canada lynx, a lithe and elusive wild cat native to the state of Washington . A few days later, a Spokane hunter made the same mistake, according to Spokesman-Review reporting from the time.
"The Canada lynx, considered a comparatively rare animal in northeastern Washington, apparently is multiplying," stated the 1963 S-R story.
Those anecdotal reports, while perhaps accurate at the time, did not foretell a trend. By 1993, the Canada lynx was listed as a state endangered species, and, by 2000, it became a federally endangered one, after years of intentional trapping, accidental hunting and habitat loss due primarily to wildfire pushed the animal to the brink of extinction in the western U.S., according to a habitat assessment published in 2019. Now, biologists estimate fewer than 50 of the cats live in Washington.
All of which underscored the importance of an overcast day in mid-February in the Kettle Mountains.
That's when Colville tribal member Michael Finley opened the door to a cage, letting out a large, disoriented and decidedly unhappy male lynx. Finley was accompanied by tribal biologists and tribal member Shelly Boyd. The animal was the eighth lynx released in the 2021-22 season and the largest. Nicknamed Darwin, the big cat weighed in at 30 pounds. Darwin remained silent as biologist Ossian Laspa carried him from the truck. The cage was covered, and the assembled attendees were asked to be silent to minimize stress on the animal.
Once the cage was placed on the snow and the cover removed, the lynx battered the front of the cage, his strength shaking the enclosure. Then Finley opened the door. Darwin paused at the threshold and raced off into his new home.
"It's a missing piece of who we are," Finley said after releasing the animal. "And it's connected to the landscape. ... Every little bit counts. Every little bit has meaning."
The Colville Confederated Tribes released nine lynx in the 2021-22 season, each one outfitted with a tracking collar that will allow biologists to see where they go, where they settle and when — or if — they reproduce, said Rose Piccinini senior wildlife biologist and project lead. The reintroduction project is biologically and culturally important to the Colville Fish and Wildlife agency, she said.
"The tribe's fish and wildfire management plan has a goal of reintroducing and reestablishing wildlife populations that have been removed or extirpated from the reservations," she said. "That's always been a goal of our department, to bring back the species and have as natural a landscape as we can."
The tribe's lynx reintroduction is modeled to some extent on efforts by Conservation Northwest, a Seattle-based conservation organization that has been relocating and releasing lynx in the Cascade Mountains. The Cascade Mountains, which run north to south from Canada into Oregon, provide plenty of great lynx habitat and, perhaps just as important, provide a corridor of connection from struggling lynx populations in the U.S. to healthier and more robust populations in British Columbia.
"We've been actively supporting that effort," said Dave Werntz an ecologist for CNW who has managed its lynx reintroduction program.
Those geographic facts are part of the reason a 2019 habitat feasibility study identified the Kettle Mountain range as suitable lynx habitat — with some caveats. Like the Cascades, the Kettle Mountains have lots of potential lynx habitat and are geographically connected to lynx populations in Canada.
"This assessment suggests that reintroduction of lynx in the Kettle LMZ may be feasible under most but not all of our modeled scenarios and under current conditions (i.e., not addressing climate related changes)," states the habitat assessment study.
Wildfires devastated lynx habitat in the Okanogan area in 2015. The Okanogan has been the traditional stronghold of the elusive cats. Seeing this, the Colville Tribe started examining the feasibility of capturing lynx in Canada and reintroducing them in the Kettle Range.
That's where Piccinini got involved. After several regulatory and ecological hurdles were cleared, the Colville Tribe started working with Canadian trappers in November. Piccinini would spend a month in Canada at a time, logging 14-hour days for seven days straight searching for lynx.
"We don't see them most of the time," she said. "Even being up there for all those months and all of those hours ... I never saw a lynx that wasn't in the trap."
Once an animal was captured, a veterinarian would do a visual examination. Then the animal would be driven over the border into Washington and released at one of the two release sites.
"I hadn't even handled a lynx until I went up on this project. It was awe-inspiring, it was humbling," Piccinini said. "It was a really amazing experience to see these animals in the wild and then to hear their heartbeats while we were processing them.
"It's like a milestone in your career. It's ... a milestone in your life."
Piccinini and other biologists working on the project know success isn't assured. But the releases have been promising. Only one lynx has died, and the animals, after wandering about a bit, seem to be settling into specific geographic areas which may be a precursor to them carving out home ranges.
"We have a couple males and females that are in close enough proximity that they could be having breeding events," Piccinini said.
Releases will continue next year. Piccinini and others hope that, one day, Canada lynx once again multiply in Eastern Washington.
Post by: hunter399 on March 11, 2022, 08:36:27 AM
Maybe they could of thought of it before wolves where pushed in. :dunno:
The other aspect also is ,just cause you have never seen a native wild lynx doesn't mean they don't exist. And how will release of these cats effect a small population of native cats that may be struggling for habitat or food. I believe knowing what you have before introducing more may be just as important.
Like said I don't see any major issues,and information gathered through the study may help native cats in the long term.
Post by: KFhunter on March 11, 2022, 08:48:12 AM
5 will be killed by mt lions.
2 will be unknown mortality (starve, die, scavenged)
1 will be hit by a car
1 will go back to Canada where it belongs
Snowshoe hare aren't as prevalent as they were back in the day. Lack of logging and reprod have stifled hare pops along with big hot fires. I remember days I could get 20 of them in a few hours, now...not so much.
Post by: Ridgeratt on March 11, 2022, 08:50:16 AM
I predict
5 will be killed by mt lions. Or wolves
2 will be unknown mortality
1 will be hit by a car
1 will go back to Canada where it belongs
Post by: timberfaller on March 11, 2022, 09:06:25 AM
The USFS will collect hair from found carcasses so they can "plant" them where needed to, to continue their "agenda's"!
Post by: Jingles on March 11, 2022, 12:01:25 PM
Once an animal was captured, a veterinarian would do a visual examination. Then the animal would be driven over the border into Washington and released at one of the two release sites.
I thought it was illegal to release non native wildlife in Washington?
Post by: Platensek-po on March 11, 2022, 12:22:17 PM
Copied from the original post
Once an animal was captured, a veterinarian would do a visual examination. Then the animal would be driven over the border into Washington and released at one of the two release sites.
I thought it was illegal to release non native wildlife in Washington?
Lynx are historically native to Washington tho
Post by: KFhunter on March 11, 2022, 02:53:04 PM
The fingers that poke down into Washington which hold Lynx doesn't make it a core habitat range.
Post by: bearpaw on March 11, 2022, 03:20:41 PM
Post by: Ridgeratt on March 11, 2022, 03:22:31 PM
Yup, but Washington is the fringe edge of their range.
The fingers that poke down into Washington which hold Lynx doesn't make it a core habitat range.
But where you are between the 2 rivers it is just a closed funnel.
Post by: hunter399 on March 11, 2022, 03:42:48 PM
When I was a kid there were lynx scattered through the Kettle Range, the Selkirks, in the wedge, and in the Okanogan, I remember seeing tracks fairly often when I first started lion hunting, even managed to see two of them through the years, one of them I saw real close when it crossed the road on the summit of the Tacoma Creek Divide. I have not seen a Lynx track in WA for quite a few years now. Trappers got some of them when they could still be trapped, hunting and trapping seasons were closed, but the numbers seemed to continue dropping, they just seemed to disappear. With how overgrown our forests have become I think they have a fair chance of making it now, they are one specie that probably benefits from a lack of forest management.Yup ,I believe I might of seen one in the Tacoma crk area many years ago. Around the divide,the summit .
This conservation Northwest,these the same group trying to stop spring bear. :dunno:
Is this a group that would try to stop bobcat hunting in an effort to restore lynx ?
As far as habitat ,I don't mind leaving big tracks of land roadless in a natural state.
When it may effect hunting of other game ,I might have an issue.
Post by: JimmyHoffa on March 11, 2022, 05:10:38 PM
Copied from the original postBut if it's a fish, then nobody wants to move it to a river even five miles away. They have to regenerate naturally. Wolves and lynx and (soon grizz?) get to follow a different philosophy.
Once an animal was captured, a veterinarian would do a visual examination. Then the animal would be driven over the border into Washington and released at one of the two release sites.
I thought it was illegal to release non native wildlife in Washington?
Post by: Dan-o on March 11, 2022, 05:19:50 PM
Copied from the original postBut if it's a fish, then nobody wants to move it to a river even five miles away. They have to regenerate naturally. Wolves and lynx and (soon grizz?) get to follow a different philosophy.
Once an animal was captured, a veterinarian would do a visual examination. Then the animal would be driven over the border into Washington and released at one of the two release sites.
I thought it was illegal to release non native wildlife in Washington?
??
Post by: JimmyHoffa on March 11, 2022, 05:26:25 PM
Fish have to follow a very strict distinct population/genetic protocol for where they can be moved to. Predators don't...you can take wolves or lynx from distant areas and transplant even though they are distant genetically from local animals.Copied from the original postBut if it's a fish, then nobody wants to move it to a river even five miles away. They have to regenerate naturally. Wolves and lynx and (soon grizz?) get to follow a different philosophy.
Once an animal was captured, a veterinarian would do a visual examination. Then the animal would be driven over the border into Washington and released at one of the two release sites.
I thought it was illegal to release non native wildlife in Washington?
??
Post by: dwils233 on March 11, 2022, 05:34:54 PM
Quote from: hunter399
This conservation Northwest,these the same group trying to stop spring bear. :dunno:
CNW hasn't weighed in for or against spring bear...I think they are sitting this one out. They also don't share the same people on staff/board as the anti orgs that are fighting to end spring bear.
Folks on here have issues with CNW...but they aren't quite the same vein as the anti's we're seeing organized like WWF & HSUS
I'm sure someone is going to tell me I'm wrong, but there is a distinction between CNW & this new push were seeing
Post by: wadu1 on March 11, 2022, 06:08:47 PM
Post by: WapitiTalk1 on March 11, 2022, 06:44:29 PM
Post by: JakeLand on March 12, 2022, 05:56:58 AM
Post by: zwickeyman on March 12, 2022, 06:00:54 AM
I’m not for transplanting any of these predators period , there’s a distinct reason that they’re not here. Started with wolves and how did that work out ? Then Fisher and now Lynx transplant predators changes the whole balance of areas or regions and not for the good I’m seeing it and dealing with it when it comes to the Fisher as you guys are with the wolves .
:yeah:
I 100% agree
Post by: buckcanyonlodge on March 12, 2022, 01:28:25 PM
I’m not for transplanting any of these predators period , there’s a distinct reason that they’re not here. Started with wolves and how did that work out ? Then Fisher and now Lynx transplant predators changes the whole balance of areas or regions and not for the good I’m seeing it and dealing with it when it comes to the Fisher as you guys are with the wolves .
:yeah: Next ... coming to the woods near you...... no bobcat hunting....
Post by: buckfvr on March 12, 2022, 01:40:53 PM
I’m not for transplanting any of these predators period , there’s a distinct reason that they’re not here. Started with wolves and how did that work out ? Then Fisher and now Lynx transplant predators changes the whole balance of areas or regions and not for the good I’m seeing it and dealing with it when it comes to the Fisher as you guys are with the wolves .
:yeah: Next ... coming to the woods near you...... no bobcat hunting....
:yeah:
Post by: KFhunter on March 12, 2022, 01:43:05 PM
I’m not for transplanting any of these predators period , there’s a distinct reason that they’re not here. Started with wolves and how did that work out ? Then Fisher and now Lynx transplant predators changes the whole balance of areas or regions and not for the good I’m seeing it and dealing with it when it comes to the Fisher as you guys are with the wolves .
:yeah: Next ... coming to the woods near you...... no bobcat hunting....
They tried to shut down some snowmobile trails already in the Kettle Range, I met with the bio students from I think WSU at the trail head, they wanted to put a GPS tracker on my snowmobile. The young gal was very cute and flirty, I didn't take the bait :chuckle:
Later the club found out they were trying to justify closing the area due to lynx recovery.
Now the tribe is planting them there, the whole area is up for wilderness designation. That would suck, it's fine as is.
This was like 10-12 years ago, the Lynx has long been used as a tool to attempt to close that whole area
Post by: idaho guy on March 12, 2022, 05:15:57 PM
I’m not for transplanting any of these predators period , there’s a distinct reason that they’re not here. Started with wolves and how did that work out ? Then Fisher and now Lynx transplant predators changes the whole balance of areas or regions and not for the good I’m seeing it and dealing with it when it comes to the Fisher as you guys are with the wolves .
:yeah: Next ... coming to the woods near you...... no bobcat hunting....
They tried to shut down some snowmobile trails already in the Kettle Range, I met with the bio students from I think WSU at the trail head, they wanted to put a GPS tracker on my snowmobile. The young gal was very cute and flirty, I didn't take the bait :chuckle:
Later the club found out they were trying to justify closing the area due to lynx recovery.
Now the tribe is planting them there, the whole area is up for wilderness designation. That would suck, it's fine as is.
This was like 10-12 years ago, the Lynx has long been used as a tool to attempt to close that whole area
My first thought was they will use it to justify ending bobcat hunting in the lynx areas. Also antis love to use “ endangered “ species to shut down recreation like snowmobiles etc.
Post by: Alan K on March 12, 2022, 05:33:46 PM
Post by: hunter399 on March 12, 2022, 07:45:48 PM
Lynx recovery zones historically do shutdown ,roads,trails,forest tree harvest and reforestation.
The north half......
Natives still believe it's part of the reservation and it's not.
They only retain hunting rights to it.
So honestly to act as If they own it or to try and pull the co-exist stuff is a little far fetched. Saying they are released on the reservation is not true.
And like said in my first post,are we throwing native bobcat under the bus. Will lynx kill all the bobcat in the area.
I'm not saying I agree with them release lynx,
But maybe more research so go into what's there before you just let them go.
Honestly I thought natives where on the hunters side with wolves and stuff ,this really shows they are not.
I'd be more worried about the natives trying to reclaim some of the North half .All that has to happen is someone accidentally shoots a lynx,natives sue the federal government for not protecting lynx and try to claim a portion of the North half back to the reservation. Then boom ...no more hunting for us.
I can deal with gated roads,and walking in to hunt,and some annoying road shutdowns, I would be more worried about natives reclaiming the North half.
Post by: KFhunter on March 12, 2022, 08:09:12 PM
We are allowed to hunt black Bear in grizzly bear recovery zone still. :dunno: As long as we don't shoot any grizz.
Lynx recovery zones historically do shutdown ,roads,trails,forest tree harvest and reforestation.
The north half......
Natives still believe it's part of the reservation and it's not.
They only retain hunting rights to it.
So honestly to act as If they own it or to try and pull the co-exist stuff is a little far fetched. Saying they are released on the reservation is not true.
And like said in my first post,are we throwing native bobcat under the bus. Will lynx kill all the bobcat in the area.
I'm not saying I agree with them release lynx,
But maybe more research so go into what's there before you just let them go.
Honestly I thought natives where on the hunters side with wolves and stuff ,this really shows they are not.
I'd be more worried about the natives trying to reclaim some of the North half .All that has to happen is someone accidentally shoots a lynx,natives sue the federal government for not protecting lynx and try to claim a portion of the North half back to the reservation. Then boom ...no more hunting for us.
I can deal with gated roads,and walking in to hunt,and some annoying road shutdowns, I would be more worried about natives reclaiming the North half.
Grizz areas we didn't have a spring bear hunt (irrelevant now)
We can't night hunt bobs in lynx recovery areas
We still can't snowmobile in Caribou protection areas even though they've been extinct in WA for a good 4-5 years now
Lynx don't kill bobs for the most part, bobs are meaner
Fisher do kill lynx
Post by: JakeLand on March 12, 2022, 08:47:22 PM
Post by: hunter399 on March 12, 2022, 09:08:54 PM
I didn't know grizzly recovery zone had anything to do with spring bear ? Explain......We are allowed to hunt black Bear in grizzly bear recovery zone still. :dunno: As long as we don't shoot any grizz.
Lynx recovery zones historically do shutdown ,roads,trails,forest tree harvest and reforestation.
The north half......
Natives still believe it's part of the reservation and it's not.
They only retain hunting rights to it.
So honestly to act as If they own it or to try and pull the co-exist stuff is a little far fetched. Saying they are released on the reservation is not true.
And like said in my first post,are we throwing native bobcat under the bus. Will lynx kill all the bobcat in the area.
I'm not saying I agree with them release lynx,
But maybe more research so go into what's there before you just let them go.
Honestly I thought natives where on the hunters side with wolves and stuff ,this really shows they are not.
I'd be more worried about the natives trying to reclaim some of the North half .All that has to happen is someone accidentally shoots a lynx,natives sue the federal government for not protecting lynx and try to claim a portion of the North half back to the reservation. Then boom ...no more hunting for us.
I can deal with gated roads,and walking in to hunt,and some annoying road shutdowns, I would be more worried about natives reclaiming the North half.
Grizz areas we didn't have a spring bear hunt (irrelevant now)
We can't night hunt bobs in lynx recovery areas
We still can't snowmobile in Caribou protection areas even though they've been extinct in WA for a good 4-5 years now
Lynx don't kill bobs for the most part, bobs are meaner
Fisher do kill lynx
Bobcat hunting at night in lynx areas ,we know why that came about.
And the caribou areas shutdown that's just the forest service
There famous for shuting down areas for one reason or another ,never to reopen those roads.
Post by: highcountry_hunter on March 12, 2022, 10:22:29 PM
Post by: Alchase on March 12, 2022, 11:00:43 PM
Odd that they state in the article that wildfire is a leading cause in lynx habitat loss considering the colville rez is decimated by wildfire on a nearly yearly basis. 2022 was the summit trail fire of 48k acres, 2019 was the Williams flats fire of over 45k acres, in 2015 the north star fire was over 215k acres. And those are just the big ones.
Interesting, fire has always been a natural way for nature to "clean up". How is it that a fire is now considered habitat loss? :dunno:
Post by: hunter399 on March 13, 2022, 01:40:43 AM
I would only consider it habitat loss for 4-5 year,after that it's better habitat then it was before in most cases.Odd that they state in the article that wildfire is a leading cause in lynx habitat loss considering the colville rez is decimated by wildfire on a nearly yearly basis. 2022 was the summit trail fire of 48k acres, 2019 was the Williams flats fire of over 45k acres, in 2015 the north star fire was over 215k acres. And those are just the big ones.
Interesting, fire has always been a natural way for nature to "clean up". How is it that a fire is now considered habitat loss? :dunno:
Post by: bearpaw on March 13, 2022, 06:47:52 AM
I would only consider it habitat loss for 4-5 year,after that it's better habitat then it was before in most cases.Odd that they state in the article that wildfire is a leading cause in lynx habitat loss considering the colville rez is decimated by wildfire on a nearly yearly basis. 2022 was the summit trail fire of 48k acres, 2019 was the Williams flats fire of over 45k acres, in 2015 the north star fire was over 215k acres. And those are just the big ones.
Interesting, fire has always been a natural way for nature to "clean up". How is it that a fire is now considered habitat loss? :dunno:
Its good habitat for many animals even quicker than that! For Lynx who rely on snowshoe hare populations that may take longer, I'm not sure how long before the showshoes move back in heavy, I've never paid attention to that in any of the large fire areas in the Kettle Crest?
Post by: highcountry_hunter on March 13, 2022, 08:35:04 AM
I would only consider it habitat loss for 4-5 year,after that it's better habitat then it was before in most cases.Odd that they state in the article that wildfire is a leading cause in lynx habitat loss considering the colville rez is decimated by wildfire on a nearly yearly basis. 2022 was the summit trail fire of 48k acres, 2019 was the Williams flats fire of over 45k acres, in 2015 the north star fire was over 215k acres. And those are just the big ones.
Interesting, fire has always been a natural way for nature to "clean up". How is it that a fire is now considered habitat loss? :dunno:
Its good habitat for many animals even quicker than that! For Lynx who rely on snowshoe hare populations that may take longer, I'm not sure how long before the showshoes move back in heavy, I've never paid attention to that in any of the large fire areas in the Kettle Crest?
There’s starting to get some rabbits and small critters in the Stickpin burn area up on the crest, that fire was 2015. I’ve been hauling burnt logs off the Summit Trail fire on the reservation and it’s gonna be quite some time before there’s any bunny’s hopping around. That fire got so damn hot that the soil’s been cooked into dust. The whole landscape around the fire was pretty much nuke’d.
Post by: nwwanderer on March 14, 2022, 06:52:42 AM
Post by: hunter399 on March 14, 2022, 08:36:47 AM
You got to remember the "north half" is pretty much all of 101 from kettle to curlew lake.
Really a huge chunk ,that's most likely why the federal government took it back. And I think way back when ,natives where starting to survey and sell some of it .
And the feds said nope,we are taking it back.
That's just the "story" or rumor I hear.
So they where pushed back to the current reservation,but was able to retain all fishing and hunting rights to the North half.
I was just looking at this map online it goes aways past Republic,anytime you cross the river at kettle ,your in the North half. Red arrow is kettle falls.