The Forest Service will hold meetings this summer to see if the public supports the habitat protection measures, The Mining Journal of Marquette reported on Sunday. A decision is expected in late fall. The lynx was listed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service as a threatened species in the lower 48 states last year. None of the big cats have been documented in the Hiawatha area for several years. It is unknown how many lynx exist in the United States, according to the Fish and Wildlife Service.
Lynx are extremely rare in Michigan, Minnesota and Wisconsin.
At Hiawatha, the service wants to use fire as a tool to maintain or restore lynx habitat and hopes to minimize the number of permanent roads, trails and paths that could increase access to the animals by predators such as coyotes. It also wants to keep snowmobiling and other recreational activities in existing developed areas to preserve the deep snow conditions that lynx and snowshoe hares favor. Hares are the main food source of lynx. Under the plan, those conducting research projects in the forest would have to design activities and facilities to minimize impacts on lynx habitat. The service also is proposing that suitable acreage of lynx habitat be maintained when planning timber sales, planting and thinning projects.