Sustainably Harvesting a Large Carnivore? Development of Eurasian Lynx Populations in Norway During 160 Years of Shifting Policy |
| |
Authors: | John D C Linnell Henrik Broseth John Odden Erlend Birkeland Nilsen |
| |
Institution: | (1) Terrestrial Ecology, Norwegian Institute for Nature Research, Tungasletta 2, 7485 Trondheim, Norway;(2) Faculty of Forestry and Wildlife Management, Hedmark College, 2480 Koppang, Norway |
| |
Abstract: | The management of large carnivores in multiuse landscapes is always controversial, and managers need to balance a wide range
of competing interests. Hunter harvest is often used to limit population size and distribution but is proving to be both controversialand
technically challenging. Eurasian lynx (Lynx lynx) are currently managed as a game species in Norway. We describe an adaptive management approach where quota setting is based
on an annual census and chart the population development through the period 1996–2008, as management has become significantly
more sophisticated and better informed by the increased availability of scientific data. During this period the population
has been through a period of high quotas and population decline caused by fragmented management authority and overoptimistic
estimates of lynx reproduction, followed by a period of recovery due to quota reductions. The modern management regime is
placed in the context of shifting policy during the last 160 years, during which management goals have moved from extermination
stimulated by bounties, through a short phase of protection, and now to quota-regulated harvest. Much management authority
has also been delegated from central to local levels. We conclude that adaptive management has the potential to keep the population
within some bounded limits, although there will inevitably be fluctuation. |
| |
Keywords: | |
本文献已被 SpringerLink 等数据库收录! |
|