CHEYENNE – Snowmobile groups in Wyoming and Washington state are suing in federal court to challenge the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, which wants to designate 39,000 square miles of land in Montana and five other states as critical habitat for the threatened Canada lynx.
The Wyoming State Snowmobile Association and the Washington State Snowmobile Association filed the suit Monday in U.S. District Court in Cheyenne. They contend the agency’s proposed designation of critical habitat for the Canada lynx threatens to disrupt their sport.
The agency wants to designate parts of Wyoming, Idaho, Montana and Washington, as well as Maine and Minnesota, as critical habitat for the Canada lynx.
The snowmobile groups argue the habitat designation amounts to a major federal action that requires a detailed environmental study.
Several environmental groups also say they intend to sue the federal agency, saying the habitat designation covers too little of Montana and does not include northeastern Washington and the southern Rocky Mountains in Colorado.