Once again, I find myself needing to untangle the myriad half-truths written by V.Paul Reynolds (Aug. 5). His column should be titled “Outdoors Extremists In Maine.”

First, according to the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, the majority of lawsuits concerning the Endangered Species Act come from those seeking to bypass laws protecting threatened and endangered species, either through development of sensitive habitats or other such abuses, not those wishing to protect wildlife.

Second, the Animal Protection Institute’s lawsuit seeks only to ensure federal law protecting threatened and endangered species isn’t abused by those who would trap eagles and lynx.

Let the courts decide who is abusing the law. Should we allow dune buggies in areas where endangered or threatened birds nest? Should we allow all-terrain vehicles in sensitive habitats? These, too, are only recreations, just like trapping, and we are dutybound to protect endangered species over recreation, don’t we?

This is, after all, what the Endangered Species Act is all about.

While Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife spokesman Mark Latti said between 500 and 1,000 Canada Lynx are in Maine, DIF&W states in its incidental take application it can only estimate the actual number. During recent public hearing to update Maine’s threatened and endangered species list, DIF&W officials said it believes there are about 500 lynx in Maine, just 50 above what would require raising lynx’s designation to threatened.

It’s amazing how the population estimate doubled in the eight months since this hearing, isn’t it?

Jennifer Vashon, who leads the Maine Lynx study, recently stated she believes Maine is seeing a decreasing lynx population. Biologists have found radio-collared lynx dead from a nematode never before seen in lynx. Lungworm has been found in moose and bobcats, but no information is available about lungworm in lynx. Anyone concerned about the lynx population in Maine should not be playing fast and loose with this information. Vashon also reports over the last two years, biologists have found one lynx litter each year in the study area where eight or nine litters were found in previous years. This is an alarming decrease.

This, combined with climatic effects lessening Maine’s snowpack and moving it northward and declines in suitable habitats for the lynx’s primary food source – the snowshoe hare – leaves more than enough reasons to continue to protect this rare Eastern resident from recreational trapping.

Maine is the only state in the entire eastern United States that still has lynx.

Reynolds would have us believe with all this information easily available, conservation organizations are abusing the Endangered Species Act by trying to stop lynx trapping.

It sounds more like sour grapes to me.

Daryl DeJoy, Penobscot

Director, Wildlife Alliance of Maine