California Wildlife Officials Recommend Threatened Status for Central Coast and Southern California Mountain Lions

Historic recommendation follows years of advocacy by Mountain Lion Foundation and Center for Biological Diversity

In a major conservation victory, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) recommended that mountain lions across the Central Coast and Southern California be listed as Threatened under the California Endangered Species Act. This groundbreaking recommendation, if approved by the Fish and Game Commission, would provide critical long-term protections for populations increasingly imperiled by highways, development, and habitat fragmentation.

The Department’s comprehensive status review, released December 9, validates what scientists and advocates have long warned: without immediate intervention, these iconic cats face potential collapse in multiple regions. The recommended protections would safeguard essential habitat, mandate wildlife crossing construction, and restrict the use of anticoagulant rodenticides that poison the food chain.

“This recommendation confirms that California’s mountain lions are in crisis and need our protection now,” said Ellen C. O’Connell, Executive Director of the Mountain Lion Foundation. “From the Santa Monica Mountains to the Central Coast, these populations are being strangled by freeways and development. Today’s decision recognizes that we can’t wait any longer to act.”

The recommendation stems from a 2019 petition filed by the Mountain Lion Foundation and Center for Biological Diversity documenting six genetically distinct populations at risk of extinction. The petition triggered emergency protections in 2020 while CDFW conducted its review.

The proposed listing would establish enforceable habitat protections, accelerate wildlife crossing projects at critical chokepoints, and create a framework for landscape-level connectivity planning—essential tools for preventing local extinctions.

Next Steps

The Fish and Game Commission will vote on CDFW’s recommendation in early 2026. The Mountain Lion Foundation is mobilizing supporters statewide to ensure commissioners hear the overwhelming public support for protecting California’s lions.

“We’ve come too far to lose momentum now,” added O’Connell. “Every Californian who values our wild heritage needs to make their voice heard.”