CPW is a nationally recognized leader in conservation, outdoor recreation and wildlife management. The agency manages 43 state parks, all of Colorado's 960-plus wildlife species, more than 350 state wildlife areas and a host of recreational programs from hunting and fishing to the state’s trails program, boat registrations, snowmobiles, off-highway vehicles and more. All of its management is in perpetuity for the enjoyment of Coloradans and its visitors and this podcast is dedicated to telling the stories and happenings in Colorado's great outdoors!
We flash back 20 years ago and discuss Colorado's efforts to reintroduce the Canada lynx in the San Juan Mountains in southwest Colorado. We'll talk with Senior Wildlife Biologist Scott Wait, who was a part of the original reintroduction efforts as well as Eric Odell, CPW's Species Conservation Program Manager who gives us an update on how lynx are doing now in Colorado. And we ask if there are parallels that can be drawn from the lynx reintroduction to an upcoming wolf reintroduction, as Coloradans voted to pass Proposition #114 - The Restoration of Gray Wolves, a measure directing the Colorado Parks and Wildlife Commission to develop a plan to reintroduce gray wolves west of the Continental Divide.
Topic list:
2:40 - motivation to reintroduce lynx back in the late 1990s
3:50 - planning process to reintroduce lynx
5:25 - where did the animals come from
6:43 - what was the transaction process to obtain the lynx for reintroduction
8:30 - criteria for the animals to bring to Colorado
9:40 - how does the process unfold for release
11:35 - Scott Wait’s memories of the first release
13:15 - figuring out where to release the lynx
14:45 - when did the lynx stop being released and why
16:55 - why is it important to have lynx in Colorado
17:50 - lynx dispersal after release and where can they be found now
18:40 - what makes for good lynx habitat
19:55 - the physical attributes of lynx
21:55 - how many lynx are in Colorado
23:50 - how does the species handle human disturbance from high levels of outdoor recreation
25:15 - can we learn anything from the lynx reintroduction and apply it to a wolf reintroduction
