Not one lynx hair was found. I can't say that with 100 percent certainty, but it's a very strong likelihood that they're just not there. Last year, the Fish and Wildlife Service classified the Canada lynx as a threatened species in the lower 48 states. There was a time when the lynx roamed throughout much of the northern United States, but today in the lower 48, they are confined largely to the Rockies and the Cascade Mountains of the Northwest. Within the past few years, biologists have discovered that the cats also are living and breeding in the wilds of northwestern Maine.
Lynx remain numerous in Canada and Alaska.
Wildlife biologist Rainer Brocke, left, and Kent Gustafson inspect a lynx shortly before its release into the high peaks in January 1989. Neither the Fish and Wildlife Service nor the state DEC is considering another lynx release in the Adirondacks. Nickerson said the federal agency will look at the feasibility of a reintroduction in the region as part of its lynx recovery plan, but in light of the failure of the earlier attempt, the feds would be reluctant to authorize another release. Those who masterminded what was, in 1989, one of the largest and riskiest attempts at bringing back a vanquished predator, try to compensate for their years of toil by saying that much scientific knowledge was gained. But other wildlife biologists speak critically of the lynx restoration effort as a misguided, costly waste that lacked a strong foundation of science.