US proposes recovery plan for Canada lynx

BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — U.S. officials proposed a $31 million recovery plan for Canada lynx on Friday in a bid to help the snow-dependent wildcat species that scientists say could be wiped out in parts of the contiguous U.S. by the end of the century.

The proposal marks a sharp turnaround from five years ago, when officials in Donald Trump's presidency said lynx had recovered and no longer needed protection after their numbers had rebounded in some areas. President Joseph Biden's administration in 2021 reached a legal settlement with environmental groups to retain threatened species protections for lynx that were first imposed in 2000.

Populations of the medium-sized wildcats in New Hampshire, Maine and Washington state are most at risk as warmer temperatures reduce habitat for lynx and their primary food, snowshoe hares, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service documents indicate.