Under the plan, 8.4 million acres of private land would be included, at a cost, over twenty years, of $889 million. Although the plan includes Washington, Idaho, Montana, Minnesota, and Maine, its greatest impact is on the latter three with one million acres affected in both northwestern Montana and northeastern Minnesota and six million included in northern Maine. Thousands of landowners will find their ability to use their private property greatly constrained, if litigious environmental groups have anything to say about it, and they will. Worst of all, the FWS admits that, because the historic range of lynx only marginally includes the lower 48, the designation of critical habitat will achieve little, if anything.
For radical environmental groups, however, designation of critical habitat for the Canada lynx will achieve one thing: it will provide them with another tool to bar the use of private property coveted by the groups. In one troubling action, the federal court that ruled on the lynx has retained jurisdiction, apparently to preside over the implementation of the habitat rule. That is very bad news for landowners, those who respect private property, and those who love freedom. No wonder scores of Members of Congress, in rare bi-partisan agreement, have introduced bills to reform “critical habitat” authority. Unfortunately, such reform will come too late for those facing the Bush Administration’s most audacious land grab.