Mountain Lion Foundation Spring Newsletter Vol 3 Issue 2

Saving America’s Lion ©Jon Nelson Mountain Lion Foundation Newsletter

Issue 3 Vol 2 - spring

COEXISTENCE GIVES US HOPE Over the last several months, we have continued promoting coexistence with America’s lion in all aspects of our work.

This process is as much about engendering an ethic and mindset as it is about encouraging specific actions and practices, and both take considerable time and effort. However, when people come to understand the value of their local lions, and what it takes to live peacefully with them, we all benefit.

One way we have been engendering coexistence is by providing a platform for agriculture producers to share their experience. We started the year off with a webinar from David and Mary Miller, two sheep ranchers from Colorado who outlined their use of Livestock Guardian Dogs to deter carnivores, including mountain lions. David and Mary also shared their coexistence ethic - to live in harmony with native carnivores, even when there are occasional incidents, rather than using lethal methods.

We also continue to deliver presentations to a variety of audiences. In April, volunteers in Boulder, Colorado gave a presentation on living with lions to nearly 100 elementary schools students.

Our Coexistence and Advocacy Coordinator, Gowan Batist, also delivered numerous presentations in California this spring.

These included two webinars hosted by Tuleyome, and an in-person workshop at Wilbur Hot Springs also hosted by Tuleyome, as well as an event hosted by the Oakland Zoo called Cocktails and Conservation.

We will soon have a brand new Coexistence tab on our website to serve as a clearinghouse of information for large-scale agricultural producers, homesteaders, homeowners, pet owners, recreationists, and many other interested groups. This content is not only geared towards coexistence with mountain lions, but also coexistence between people, such as how to be a good neighbor to agricultural operations. The tab will also include a blog on experiments and research from the field from Gowan.

As a sheep rancher, Gowan has extensive experience implementing a variety of coexistence measures with her flock. Stay tuned for our release of all this new and exciting content on our website!

Finally, our whole staff were incredibly excited this spring as Gowan shared her experience delivering 31 new lambs. Her flock of heritage breed Finnsheep delivered their lambs protected by two Livestock Guardian Dogs, who they clung to for support during labor and who they leave their lambs with for safekeeping while they graze.

Additionally, they were protected at this vulnerable time by an enclosed structure, electric fence and flashing foxlights, according to the philosophy of stacking the Swiss cheese- each technique has some small holes in it, so overlapping them creates the most safety.

We enjoyed having twin lambs who were brought into the house for some extra care attend our staff meeting via zoom!

While lambing comes with some sleepless nights and extra work, it’s a magical time of the year and an excellent opportunity to celebrate non-lethal coexistence. Not a single lamb was lost this season, or in any of the five previous seasons, using simple and low-cost tools despite farming alongside native carnivores.

It is clear that coexistence is the futurebecause it is the healthiest for baby lambs and mountain lions, the most effective way to protect vulnerable livestock and wildlife for every new generation to come.

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STATE UPDATES An exclusive Bay Area community cited the CESA application to argue that the California entire town was critical habitat for mountain lions, and thus exempt from In California, MLF volunteers have the change in zoning. MLF corrected continued presenting to communities the record, emphasizing that while parts and working with livestock owners and of the town might warrant such state officials to prevent depredations. protection, new construction where While MLF’s application for state housing has already been built would endangered species act listing is pose no threat, and increased density pending before the California Fish and Game Commission, the state grants the would reduce pressure on the wild species all the law’s protections, which spaces mountain lions desperately need to survive. Facing a backlash from has led to a decrease in lethal mountain lion advocates, state officials, responses to depredations, and greater and housing advocates, the town interest in nonlethal responses. MLF quickly reversed course. volunteers and staff, including our new Coexistence Coordinator Gowan Batist, Washington have been working hard to ensure that current, reliable information is available In Washington State, MLF staff and members advocated for SB 5613, to livestock owners, pet owners, and legislation amending state law to recreationists statewide. remove sheriffs’ authority to pursue A vote on the California Endangered cougars using hounds. The loophole Species Act (CESA) listing is expected permitting such hound pursuit has been this year, and new research continues used by Klickitat County sheriff Bob to come in documenting the imperiled Songer as an excuse for his unlicensed state of mountain lion populations in posse to chase and kill dozens of southern California. Researchers found cougars in recent years. MLF and signs of inbreeding in the genes and citizens of the county have filed anatomy of mountain lions in the Santa litigation to stop that hunt. That litigation Monica Mountains that have only is still pending. previously been found in Florida SB 5613 received support from the panthers, which population is listed as state fish and wildlife agency, and a endangered under the federal wide range of conservation and Endangered Species Act. outdoors groups testified in support of To address that threat, the state of the bill. During the brief budget session, California is building the largest wildlife the bill passed out of its senate crossing in the world, and celebrated committee thanks to the leadership of the groundbreaking ceremony this April. Senator Kevin Van De Wege, and then The bridge will cross US-101 at Liberty passed the full senate. The key House Canyon, in Los Angeles County, committee considered the bill, but allowing cougars and other wildlife to ultimately failed to vote on moving it to move safely across 8 lanes of traffic. the full House for consideration.

MLF worked with partner organizations, While that means the bill will not take legislators, and state agencies to effect this year — and Songer’s ensure this monumental effort would succeed. We remain active in a range of slaughter will proceed until courts, other wildlife crossing efforts throughout legislators, or other state officials intervene — the rapid progress of the California, as roads and exurban bill even during this rushed session development are the greatest threats gives hope for the bill to be revisited in facing the state’s mountain lions. future legislative sessions. MLF staff That stance put MLF in an unusual and board members continue exploring position early this year. In January, a legislative options with key legislators, new state law came into effect which and we have high hopes that needless requires municipalities to allow certain killings by sheriffs will be brought to an multifamily developments on lots end in Washington soon. currently only zoned for single-family homes.

REGION I

The Washington Fish and Wildlife Commission gained three new members this year, and all appear to be strong advocates for conservation.

They fill a long-vacant seat, replace the sitting chair (who was serving a year past the end of his term), and fill a seat vacated late in 2021 by Fred Koontz.

Koontz, formerly the VP for Conservation at Seattle’s Woodland Park Zoo, resigned in protest of the toxic environment on the commission, which had reached a peak during and after a vote in November that placed spring black bear hunting on hold.

In Koontz’s absence, advocates for carnivore hunts attempted to reinstate the bear hunt. When the new commissioners were named by Governor Inslee, one of their first votes was on that revived bear hunt proposal.

After much lobbying, including a forceful op-ed in the Seattle Times by board member Toby Cooper, the commission voted down the bear hunt again. That vote, Cooper wrote, was “a convenient proxy for a broader debate that regrettably teeters on the razor’s edge of America’s cultural divide.” The vote signals not just a new approach to bears, but to management of carnivores, including cougars.

In coming months, the Commission is due to vote on new hunting guidelines for cougars, and likely to take up special rules allowing additional cougar hunting in the Blue Mountains, an area where elk populations have been declining. While the Department of Fish and Wildlife reports that harsh winters, drought, and wildfire have all taken a toll on the elk herd, their management recommendations focus on losses of calves to carnivores. MLF has been working to ensure that the agency takes an ecosystem-wide approach to that situation, and does not blame cougars for changes attributable to climate change.

©Frank Peters 2

STATE UPDATES (CONT’D) MLF and the Washington Department of Wildlife have published a new brochure on coexisting with cougars, a key collaboration that will help educate the public about how to keep livestock safe from cougars, and cougars safe from people. MLF staff are working to conduct more outreach in communities across Washington, and this brochure will be a great help to that outreach. We are also looking for volunteers who might be willing to assist with outreach, and can supply resources to anyone interested.

Oregon, Idaho and Montana In Oregon, Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming, we continue to reach out to communities and agencies, aiming to build similar collaborations as we see in California and Washington. We are working to encourage nonlethal deterrents, and to bring hunting and management practices in line with the best scientific guidance. Many of these states set hunting quotas too high, and fail to protect females at times when they may be nursing and protecting cubs. With help from volunteers in these states, we are working to shift responses to depredation away from the “shoot first” approach that has been common in the US West, to a more balanced approach that reflects the best research on nonlethal deterrence and the role of mature cougars in preventing livestock conflict.

REGION II Arizona Over the last few months, MLF staff and Arizona volunteers published at least five op-eds and letters to the editor on mountain lion hunting issues, delivered in-person and remote presentations on mountain lion coexistence, and worked with other organizations to encourage hundreds of Arizonans to submit comments on the proposed Arizona Hunt Guidelines.

While the final approved version of the Hunt Guidelines did leave many changes to be desired for mountain lions, there were some notable improvements.

Chief among them was the decision to consider female mountain lions adults if they show evidence of nursing, which means they will count towards adult hunting limits more easily. To continue the fight, we are now working with a coalition of Arizona organizations and advocates to protect the state’s native carnivores, including by improving wildlife governance to represent the interests of all Arizonans, not just hunters. Stay tuned for updates and action alerts in the near future.

Colorado There will always be a place for fostering coexistence in Colorado, where mountain lion sightings and encounters are relatively common.

We are working to teach the public how to coexist safely and peacefully in mountain lion country. With the help of volunteers, MLF will be presenting at elementary and middle schools in the Boulder area this month. If you would like to get involved, reach out to info@mountainlion.org.

Nevada In December of last year, the Nevada Board of Wildlife Commissioners narrowly voted down the proposed ban on wildlife killing contests. We are continuing to advocate for ending these cruel contests, including by joining Silver State Wildlife coalition, a new group that is working to both end the contests, halt trapping on public land and improve representation on the Commission. We also submitted comments in January criticizing NDOW’s continued culling of mountain lions in the name “game protection.”

We were grateful to see Commissioner David McNinch refuse to vote for the proposed 2022-2023 mountain lion quota due to issues we raised. MLF will continue encouraging the Commission to revisit their lethal approach to depredation and game protection.

We also hosted Dr. Patricia Cramer, the lead author of the New Mexico Wildlife Corridor Action Plan, for a webinar presentation on her career studying and promoting wildlife crossings. We look forward to continuing to promote connectivity for mountain lions in New Mexico and beyond. Mountain Lion Foundation is also staying apprised of the Large Mammal Monitoring Project, an effort to monitor the response of mountain lions and other large mammals to forest restoration and wildfire. We are hoping to work with the project leaders to develop citizen science opportunities. Stay tuned for more updates.

Texas In February, MLF held its first meeting with Texas volunteers to begin fostering a local cadre of mountain lion advocates. We are excited to start planning education efforts in the state, and working with other local organizations to address the lack of protections for Texas’ mountain lions, which are still considered a ‘varmint’ and subject to unlimited hunting.

Utah Mountain Lion Foundation is working to develop a team of volunteers to raise awareness about mountain lions along Utah’s Wasatch Front and promote coexistence. These efforts so far include giving presentations and tabling, at events like the Ogden Nature Center’s Earth Day celebration on April 23, and capturing images of our local lions with trail cameras to raise awareness and inspire action. Check out some of our most recent images on our website. Now more than ever, Utah needs more mountain lion advocates given that over the half of the state remains open for unlimited mountain lion hunting. If you or anyone you know lives in Utah, consider getting involved at mountainlion.org/join-us.

New Mexico MLF recently encouraged our New Mexico members to submit comments supporting the establishment of a wildlife crossing important for mountain lions north of Albuquerque on I-25.

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STATE UPDATES (CONT’D) Iowa After European colonization in the Americas, pioneers saw large carnivores as having no place in their New World, and in 1867 the last mountain lion in Iowa was shot. When Iowa Code designated wildlife species, mountain lions were long gone, and large carnivores were still viewed as animals that did not belong.

As of now, mountain lions have no legal status in Iowa whatsoever. Yet multiple mountain lions have been observed in Iowa in recent years, largely due to western populations recovering.

Multiple attempts have been made to treat mountain lions as wildlife in the state. These attempts are now met with oppositions similar to the pioneers. Iowa is largely seen as an agricultural state, with the vast majority of land being dedicated to crops, and is one of the few states to lack any designated national wilderness areas. Beyond that, there are still a remaining 2.7 million acres of hardwood forests in Iowa supporting a variety of wildlife, primarily owned by private landowners. These forests could potentially support large carnivores as well, but human tolerance will decide if they ever do again.

This year, the bill HF 2118 was introduced into legislation to provide protection for mountain lions, black bears and gray wolves. No decision has been currently made regarding this bill, but the continued effort to protect large carnivores in Iowa shows there may be hope for them still.

In spite of the mountain lion’s precarious position on the South Dakota landscape, the bill HB 1296 called to end the requirements of hunting permits and tags to kill mountain lions outside of the Black Hills Forest Fire Protection District. Supporters of the bill wanted to remove the red tape to killing lions and keep them from where they “don’t South Dakota belong.” Opposition to the bill argued that removing the requirements for Mountain lions in South Dakota have hunting tags would take funds away persisted through time despite beliefs from South Dakota Game Fish and that they did not belong. Bounties were Parks, and place the mountain lion placed on mountain lions until 1966, population in danger from over hunting. leading to lions being nearly extirpated The opposition also challenged that we from South Dakota. As societal priorities could decide what belonged or did not for wildlife management moved away belong on the land.

HB 1296 was killed from game management and to in committee, by a vote to move it to the conservation biology, large carnivores fictitious 41st day of the session. became more valued, and the mountain Through the combined efforts of South lion was added to the threatened Dakota citizens, non-profit organizations species list in 1978. Without hunting including the Mountain Lion Foundation pressure, a breeding population of and Prairie Hills Audubon Society, and mountain lions established in the Black supporters of South Dakota Game Fish Hills, the mountain lion was delisted and and parks mountain lions have avoided made a big game animal with a yet another threat to their population. year-round closed season in 2003.

South Dakota Game Fish and Parks began a hunting season in 2005 with a stated goal of keeping the mountain lion population at a desirable level.

However, South Dakota Game Fish and Park’s most recent status report for lions states that the population is on the decline with the current level of hunting and lethal removal, and was described as unsustainable. ©Bill Brassard

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A LONG TIME COMING Watching state mountain lion policy debates can often feel hopeless. Commissions dominated by hunters extend policies set with limited data, allowing hunting quotas far beyond what we and our colleagues would recommend based on the most recent science. These policies may allow the deaths of too many females, including while they are caring for cubs, or remove older lions whose presence reduces conflict. It can feel like the needs of hunters get more weight than the needs of wildlife and ecosystems.

But those of us who watch those meetings regularly can see a change happening, and cause for hope. In Washington, new commissioners have been appointed who prioritize conservation and ecological balance. Those new commissioners just blocked an effort to revive a spring black bear hunt, a hunt that had been canceled last year, then nearly revived when a resignation shifted the commission’s balance of power. As the new commissioners voted down the hunt, they expressed concern about the harm done to ecosystems when too many carnivores are killed, and observed that the presence of bears, cougars, and other carnivores benefits people who love our wild places.

This change in attitude in agencies also reflects a hopeful change in how the public sees cougars. We’re receiving more and more calls from concerned citizens in places like Montana and Idaho. Residents in a small community in Montana requested training and resources to be good neighbors to cougars, and to ensure cougars would be safe neighbors to them. They also were looking for assistance preventing local cougars from being culled. They surveyed nearby wildlife populations and have been working with MLF and wildlife agencies to prevent needless killings, and to ensure the health and stability of the wild lands around them.

As we continue our outreach, I’m hopeful that we’ll see more calls from throughout the areas where mountain lions persist, and in areas where (thanks to improvements in state and national policies) mountain lions are re-establishing themselves after long absence.

- Josh Rosenau, Conservation Advocate - Region I

MLF and the state wildlife agency recently published a new brochure about coexisting with cougars, a new and crucial partnership that ensures information about nonlethal deterrents will be available to the widest range of people, and will come with the imprimatur of the wildlife agency and our advocacy for America’s Lion.

The agency is increasing its emphasis on nonlethal deterrence — commissioners are now debating a policy re-quiring non-lethal responses to wolf depredations — and we have cause to hope that that brochure and the partnership that created it will be vital to expanding that focus.

Include the Mountain Lion Foundation in your Estate Planning.

You can make sure that the work of protecting mountain lions continues as a part of your philanthropic legacy.

A bequest to the Mountain Lion Foundation in your will or trust is a way to ensure that work of protecting mountain lions will continue for years to come. In planning a gift through your will or trust please be sure to consult with an attorney who is familiar with current law and estate planning – if only to review it if you prepare it yourself.

There are tax consequences and advantages to planning when and how the trust distributes assets to non-profit organizations that might result in significant tax savings that would otherwise be overlooked.

If you have any questions about charitable giving please contact our office at 916-442-2666 Ext. 102.

Sample Gift Language can be found on our website https://mountainlion.org/donate/#estate-planning

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MOUNTAIN LIONS HAVE A FIGHTING CHANCE WITH THE HELP OF VOLUNTEERS Due in large part to these efforts, by January of this year, countless Arizonans were aware of the major issues with mountain lion hunting management and ready to get involved. During the January public comment period for the Hunt Guidelines, nearly one thousand Arizonans submitted comments calling for the reduction or elimination of mountain lion hunting. On April 1, Game and Fish presented the final Hunt Guidelines. Importantly, the Department did Take our volunteers in Arizona, who have been instrumental not expand hunting opportunities, a win in and of itself, and in educating the public and inspiring action to protect their made some important changes to reduce female mountain local lions. In summer of 2021, Arizona Game and Fish lion hunting. Many people and groups made these outcomes began developing the Arizona Hunt Guidelines, which possible, but our Arizona volunteers certainly played a major determine all aspects of mountain lion hunting for five years. role, helping raise awareness and setting the groundwork for Eager to create a brighter future for lions, a small but mighty future action. team of volunteers came together and began organizing a variety of advocacy activities. Soon, volunteers were tabling Volunteer efforts are ramping up in other states as well, at farmers markets and recreation areas, giving including in Colorado where volunteers are getting ready to presentations for community groups, publishing letters in give presentations in local schools. We are excited to their local papers, writing blog support our volunteers, wherever they may be. With their posts, obtaining information efforts, mountain lions have a fighting chance. Consider through public records requests, volunteering in your state by updating your status to contacting their decision-makers, volunteer today at mountainlion.org/join-us. testifying at commission meetings, and taking many other important actions.

- Logan Christian, Conservation Advocate - Region II

Mountain lion conservation can be an uphill battle as lions face climate change, habitat fragmentation, hunting and many other threats. However, amid these threats, volunteers offer hope for the future of the species. Dedicated volunteers make it possible to fight for mountain lions on a much larger scale, raising awareness in their communities and inspiring others to get involved.

Mountain Lion Foundation P.O. Box 1896 Sacramento, CA 95812

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Together, we can save America’s lion.