By JOHN RICHARDSON

MaineToday Media, Inc.

The state has agreed to restrict trapping in northern Maine to protect Canada lynx.

The commissioner of Maine's Department of Inland Fisheries & Wildlife signed a consent decree Thursday to settle a lawsuit that claimed the agency is liable for lynx that accidentally get injured or killed by traps set for other animals. The lynx are listed as threatened under the U.S. Endangered Species Act.

The settlement comes less than a week after a federal judge indicated that the lawsuit had a good chance of winning.

"I don't think anyone here is accusing anybody of deliberately trapping lynx, but if trappers are going out ... and they accidentally or inadvertently take lynx, then that is a violation of the Endangered Species Act,'' U.S. District Judge John Woodcock said during a hearing Friday in Bangor.

Thirty- four lynx have been caught by trappers in Maine since 1999, including 25 since 2004, according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

Two of the 34 animals died.

Officials estimate Maine's lynx population to be between 200 and 500 cats.

The consent decree signed Thursday:

n Bans foothold or leghold traps with jaws that open more than 53/8 inches.

n Requires killer-type traps to be mounted on poles above ground or snow level.

n Requires the state to monitor and report cases of trapped lynx, and rehabilitate injured lynx.

The department will pass an emergency rule to make the changes effective for the trapping season that starts this month, said Deputy Commissioner Paul Jacques.

"The consent decree will allow trapping to occur. It just will make it harder for a lynx to get caught in a trap," Jacques said.

A lawyer for the Animal Protection Institute, which sued Commissioner Roland Martin and the department, said the settlement will reduce the danger to lynx throughout their core habitat, mostly by eliminating larger foothold traps.

"This should reduce the number of lynx takes because these traps were the ones that were for the most part catching lynx," said David Nicholas.

The department also must pay legal fees for the Animal Protection Institute, though the amount has yet to be determined.