"I'm outta here!"

Photo courtesy of Brandon Sheely/USFS
This Canada lynx was released untouched from a wolverine research trap on Harts Pass Saturday. This far-ranging cat species will gain more than 1,800 square miles of snowy and forested designated critical habitat in Okanogan and Chelan counties through a revised ruling by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. In 2006, the USFWS designated as critical lynx habitat 1,800 square miles total in parts of Maine, Minnesota, Montana, Wyoming, Idaho and Washington. That decision was revisited in 2008 after questions were raised about the integrity of the scientific data used in the decision. The new designation totals more than 39,000 square miles in the aforementioned states.