Commission intervening in caribou habitat suit

BONNERS FERRY —Dissent about adequate critical habitat designation for woodland caribou spurred six environmental groups to file a lawsuit against the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service on Sept. 30, 2013.

Boundary County Commissioners decided to intervene on behalf of the USFWS, concurring with the USFWS that 30,000 acres of critical habitat is sufficient.

Commissioners signed a contract with Portland-based Western Resource Legal Center for legal representation in the intervention.

The USFWS originally proposed 375,000 acres of critical habitat in northern Idaho and northeastern Washington for the endangered southern Selkirk Mountain population of woodland caribou but made a final decision to designate only 30,010 acres as critical habitat in November 2012.

The six groups challenging the USFWS’s decision are the Center for Biological Diversity, Defenders of Wildlife, Conservation Northwest, Idaho Conservation League, Selkirk Conservation Alliance and The Lands Council.