By Brent Lyles, Executive Director

For many decades, California has been a national leader in shielding its mountain lions from needless and ruthless persecution. Protections for lions were initially signed into law by Governor Ronald Reagan in 1971, and then in 1990, California voters approved Prop 117, a citizen initiative that offered lions permanent protections from hunting, trapping, and various forms of harassment. Prop 117 has weathered numerous challenges over the years, and every time, the Mountain Lion Foundation has stood strong for California’s beloved lions. We’re standing strong again today.

California’s Senate Bill 818 proposes new public permits for pursuing mountain lions with teams of hunting dogs, beginning in El Dorado County and with an eye toward eventual statewide expansion. (You’ll recall that the Mountain Lion Foundation proactively supported the El Dorado County community through public education and advice for implementing proactive coexistence strategies after tragedy struck there in Spring 2024.) While SB 818 stops just short of legalizing mountain lion killing, it nonetheless rolls back important protections enshrined into law by Prop 117, and the Mountain Lion Foundation and our members are working hard to oppose this needless harassment and rally support for California’s treasured and ecologically important lions.

If you live in California, you’ve likely already seen our recent advocacy on this issue. When SB 818 was introduced in late February, we quickly reached out to other wildlife organizations and partners, and we all came together to coordinate efforts. With emails, social media posts, a petition for California residents, media outreach, and an upcoming webinar with two of the state’s most well-known mountain lion experts, the opposition to SB 818 by the Mountain Lion Foundation and these others has been swift and strong.

By working together, we are ensuring that California’s amazing and inspiring mountain lions will survive and flourish in the wild, free from needless and ruthless persecution for many decades to come.

The Mountain Lion Foundation extends our enthusiastic thanks to the following for working with us on this issue, providing advice, and/or otherwise being a steadfast partner for mountain lions: the Center for Biological Diversity, the Cougar Conservancy, the Cougar Fund, Defenders of Wildlife, Fearless Advocacy, Greenfire Law, Dr. Rick Hopkins, Humane World for Animals (formerly the Humane Society of the United States), the National Wildlife Federation, Robin Parks, the Planning and Conservation League, Project Coyote, Tri-County Wildlife, Roger Trout, Dr. Winston Vickers, WildFutures, and Bill Yeates.