SUMMIT COUNTY — The U.S. Forest Service will conduct a new study on the Canada lynx this winter, but this time the humans will wear the collars — or GPS units, anyway.
Forest Service researchers are initiating a wildlife study to determine how lynx-use patterns and human winter-recreation use patterns might overlap in the Vail Pass area, and how lynx respond to winter-recreation activity. The Forest Service will ask recreators at Vail Pass Winter Recreation Area to assist with the research project by wearing GPS units while using the area.
The Canada lynx is listed as a threatened species in the lower 48 states, and the Colorado Division of Wildlife estimates that no lynx could be found in the state after 1973. The large, gray cats were reintroduced to Colorado in 1999, and by 2005, more than 200 of the animals had been released, followed by a number of kitten litters.
“The Colorado Division of Wildlife is pleased with the overall success of the reintroduction program,” said Tanya Shenk, a CDOW research biologist. “Most of the goals have been accomplished. However, it is too early to determine if the population will persist for the long term.”
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