Santa might have extra backup to hitch to the sleigh someday, thanks to action taken by a federal wildlife agency on Tuesday.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has proposed to designate critical habitat in the Selkirk Mountains for endangered woodland caribou, America's only reindeer relative, which would protect the animals across 375,562 acres in North Idaho and northeastern Washington.

Preserving their habitat is crucial for the survival of the 45-member herd, said Tim Layser, wildlife biologist with the Selkirk Conservation Alliance.

"The Selkirk Mountains caribou population is the last remaining caribou population in the lower 48 states," Layser said, adding that the ungulates once spread across the country. "Right now, there's this one little area left."

Caribou have been endangered since 1984, he added, when critical habitat designations were not immediately provided for diminishing populations as they typically are now.

The status will ensure that federal agencies manage the land in a way that won't adversely affect the caribou, he added.

"It will provide additional protection and safeguards," Layser said.

Much more still needs to be done, said Mike Petersen, executive director of the Lands Council.

He pointed out that caribou populations have dwindled because of hunting and the logging of old growth forests, the caribou's winter habitat.

"The caribou are the most endangered species in the lower 48," Petersen said.

He hopes the habitat designation will prompt other protection measures, like population augmentation.

It would also help to restrict snowmobiling in the area, he said, as such intrusive activities upset the herd.

"(Recreators) have a huge area to go without impacting caribou," Petersen said.

Members of the Coeur d'Alene Snowmobile Club couldn't be reached for comment on Tuesday.

The proposed designation comes in response to a lawsuit asking for the status, Petersen said, which was filed in 2009 by the Selkirk Conservation Alliance, the Defenders of Wildlife, the Center for Biological Diversity and the Lands Council.

The designation will be subjected to 60 days of public comment, which can be submitted electronically at www.regulations.gov. Hard copies can be sent to Public Comments Processing, Attn: FWS-R1-ES-2011-0096, Division of Policy and Directives Management, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 4401 N. Fairfax Drive, MS 2042-PDM, Arlington, VA 22203.

"This really gets things rolling," Petersen said. "It's a great Christmas present."