Activists see lynx as a threat to forest access

Last updated 10/26/1999 at Noon

Some local sportsmen fear that the Canada lynx may cost them access to the Sisters back country.

The Forest Service is determining whether the lynx is present in Central Oregon. It is a candidate for listing as a "threatened" species, requiring protection under the federal Endangered Species Act.

"In my mind, the lynx is the excuse for them (the Forest Service) to say we have to close off more roads up near the wilderness," said Greg Thomas, a local sportsman and advocate for multiple-use on the National Forests.

Sisters Ranger District wildlife biologist Laurie Turner says that's not exactly the case.

She said she is "concerned that people think we're going to shut down the forest because of lynx and that's not necessarily true."

Lynx surveys, mandated by the Northwest Forest Plan (NFP), have turned up hair samples from "rubbing pads" on the Deschutes National Forest that may turn out to be from the elusive lynx. Samples are being examined in a Forest Service lab in Montana, and at an independent facility in California, Turner said.

According to Turner, samples from the Crescent Ranger District are likely to be lynx; she is less confident about samples on the Sisters Ranger District.

Thomas and others who have trapped and hunted in the Sisters country for decades don't believe there are any lynx in the region.

"I have never seen any sign of a lynx," Thomas said.

Turner said the lynx may be transient in the area.

"It was surmised that if they're on Detroit (Ranger District) and on Bend-Fort Rock, that they're traveling and using the crest (of the Cascades) as a travel corridor," she said.

Even if no evidence of lynx is found in the Sisters country, local forests could be affected. A listing would require that any new human activity in potential lynx habitat (above 4,000 feet) would be subject to review for its impact on lynx. Such activities would include new roads, recreation trails, resorts or timber sales.

Snowmobile and cross country tracks allow competing predators like bobcat to penetrate into lynx territory where they might cut into the population of the lynx's primary prey, the snowshoe hare, Turner noted.

But current snowmobile tracks, cross country trails and most roads would be left alone, Turner said, since activities there obviously have not affected the lynx.

"We recognize that those are existing (uses) and if there are lynx here they are co-existing with them," Turner said.

She said some spur roads near the wilderness boundary may be closed where road density exceeds the NFP-mandated density of no more than two miles of road per square mile. She said the Sisters Ranger District has very few areas with that kind of road density.

Thomas questions the federal mandate to survey for lynx, noting that, even if there is a tiny transient population in the Sisters country, it has gotten along so far without government intervention.

"I'm just wondering what the big deal is, why all the fuss?" he said. "Why spend all this money and do all these surveys if nothing is going to be done?"

Thomas says prior experience with Forest Service road closures has led him believe there is a concerted effort to restrict access as the Forest Service shifts from managing forests for "multiple use" to "ecosystem management."

"They're using wildlife issues to shut down areas of the forest," he said.

Turner said she would be happy to talk about any concerns about the potential lynx listing, in hopes that the Canada lynx does not become a symbolic icon like the spotted owl in a battle between forest users, environmentalists and the Forest Service.

"We're going to try to work with existing conditions and not have another spotted owl incident," she said.

Turner may be reached at the Sisters Ranger District, 549-2111.

Author Bio

Jim Cornelius, Editor in Chief

Jim Cornelius is editor in chief of The Nugget and author of “Warriors of the Wildlands: True Tales of the Frontier Partisans.” A history buff, he explores frontier history across three centuries and several continents on his podcast, The Frontier Partisans. For more information visit www.frontierpartisans.com.