Groups challenge lynx habitat decision

A twentyfold federal increase in land designated as critical habitat for the Canada lynx falls short partly by leaving the cat, which is protected under the Endangered Species Act, at too much risk from climate change, four environmental groups contend in a lawsuit. In February, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service designated critical habitat across some 39,000 square miles in six states, up from 1,841 square miles in three. The suit filed Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Missoula says that more habitat should have been designated in western Montana and eastern Idaho, and that the Fish and Wildlife Service erred in leaving Colorado's Rocky Mountains out of the designation entirely. The suit by the Sierra Club, the Alliance for the Wild Rockies, the Native Ecosystems Council and the Center for Native Ecosystems seeks court-ordered reconsideration of the Fish and Wildlife decision, but does not specify how much additional land the groups want designated...AP