Although Canada lynx are one of five North American furbearers included on CITES Appendix II, in order to monitor the international trade of their fur, there are no quotas or suspensions currently in place. In Canada, the national and provincial governments manage harvests by region (Government of U.S. 2007), using closed seasons, quotas, limited entry and long-term trapping concessions (Nowell and Jackson 1996). In the US, trapping takes place only in Alaska, and harvest quotas may be increased during periods of population increase and decreased during periods of cyclic decline (Government of U.S. 2007). However, for best success such dynamic harvest strategies require both numerical synchrony across large geographic regions, and robust understanding of regional population trends and future trajectories, including annual survival, recruitment and harvest rates.

The lynx population in the contiguous US was listed as Threatened under the Endangered Species Act in 2000, due to inadequate regulatory mechanisms to protect lynx or lynx habitat on Federal lands (USFWS 2000) requiring the US government to develop a recovery plan and identify critical habitat for lynx (Nordstrom 2005). A species status assessment was completed in 2017 (USFWS 2017), and a draft recovery plan was released at the end of 2023 (USFWS 2023). Currently, activities on federal lands are guided by the lynx conservation assessment and strategy (Interagency Lynx Biology Team 2013). In New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, where lynx populations are known to be under pressure, recovery planning is initiated (NSLRT 2006, NBDNRED 2022) but currently (2025) without notable field implementation.

Lynx are trapped incidentally in traps set for other furbearers like bobcat or coyote, including in jurisdictions where lynx trapping is closed for conservation purposes. In the contiguous United States, various measures have been recommended to trappers (e.g., avoid the use of hares or rabbits as bait) to reduce accidental taking of lynx in traps set for other furbearers (Golden and Krause 2003). In addition, several States have passed trapping regulations to further reduce accidental capture of lynx in traps set for other furbearers (Del Giudice et al. 2007, Vashon et al. 2012). In New Brunswick, a program is in place for recovery of carcasses of lynx caught incidentally in traps, and these are being used to track population demography (NBDNRED 2022). In some areas lynx may continue to be trapped either incidentally or illegally, but estimates of this harvest are not available. It is likely that not all carcasses from incidentally trapped lynx are surrendered through such programmes, and surrender rates likely represent an underestimate of the impact of trapping on lynx populations in regions where harvest is prohibited.

In the contiguous US. critical habitat designations only apply to federal lands or private lands with federally funded or permitted activities. This designation gives the federal government authority to manage activities that affect the designated habitat. In 2009, the US Fish and Wildlife Service published a revised designation of critical habitat which significantly increased a 2006 designation of 4,768 square miles within the boundaries of Voyagers National Park in Minnesota, Glacier National Park in Montana, and North Cascades National Park in Washington (USFWS 2009). In total, 39,000 square miles of critical lynx habitat was designated in 2009 as follows:

Maine: Approximately 15,284 km² (9,497 square miles) in portions of Aroostook, Franklin, Penobscot, Piscataquis and Somerset Counties.

Minnesota: Approximately 12,979 km2 (8,065 square miles) in portions of Cook, Koochiching, Lake, and St. Louis Counties, and Superior National Forest.

Northern Rocky Mountains: Approximately 16,258 km² (10,102 square miles) in portions of Boundary County in Idaho, and Flathead, Glacier, Granite, Lake, Lewis and Clark, Lincoln, Missoula, Pondera, Powell and Teton Counties in Montana. This area includes the Flathead Indian Reservation, National Forest lands and Bureau of Land Management (BLM) lands in the Garnet Resource Area. North Cascades: Approximately 1,836 square miles in portions of Chelan and Okanogan Counties which includes BLM lands in the Spokane District. Greater Yellowstone Area: Approximately 9,500 square miles in Gallatin, Park, Sweetgrass, Stillwater, and Carbon Counties in Montana, and Park, Teton, Fremont, Sublette, and Lincoln Counties in Wyoming. The Kettle range of Washington State was not included as critical habitat due to lack of recent evidence of reproduction, and the reintroduced population of Colorado and Utah in the southern Rockies was also not included due to lack of evidence that it is self-sustaining. A recovery outline for lynx in the contiguous US was released in 2005 and designated critical habitat was identified in 2006 and reevaluated 2007. Critical lynx habitat designation was revised in 2009 and 2014, and a complete species status assessment was released in 2017, with an addendum in 2023 (USFWS 2023).