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February 29, 2008

Feds increase protected lynx habitat

Federal wildlife officials on Thursday dramatically increased the amount of land they want to designate in Maine and five other states as critical habitat for the Canada lynx.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service yesterday said it wants to designate nearly 43,000 square miles in six states as critical lynx habitat, according to the Associated Press. That amount is more than 20 times the 1,800 square miles in three states the agency proposed in late 2006. These critical habitat zones carry increased regulations and could prohibit development, according to the Bangor Daily News. Land would now be designated as critical lynx habitat in Idaho, Maine, Minnesota, Montana, Washington and Wyoming, the AP said.

The wildlife service was ordered last November to revise a 2006 law about Canada lynx habitat that excluded about 10,000 acres of lynx habitat in northern Maine. At the time, some said the agency unfairly left out the Maine land to appease developers with plans for area, such as Seattle-based Plum Creek Timber Co.

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