PORTLAND, Maine (AP) -- A coalition of environmental groups says it will press on with a lawsuit designed to provide more protections for Maine's lynx despite new trapping restrictions adopted by the state.
States cannot allow incidental harm to the protected wild cats without a permit from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Three environmental groups say the service shouldn't have issued such a permit to Maine last year. They say the Endangered Species Act makes clear harm to lynx must be minimized.
The Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife says new regulations for the 2015 trapping season were implemented last week to decrease the probability of trapping or hurting a lynx. A biologist with Animal Welfare Institute, one of the groups that sued, says it's unclear the new rules are sufficient.
