During the first seven months of 2026, the Mountain Lion Foundation has been working across the West to strengthen protections for mountain lions, reduce conflict, and build lasting partnerships grounded in science, collaboration and practical solutions.
From community meetings in southern Utah to research planning in Montana and coexistence work in California, our program team is helping MLF reach more people, partner with communities, policymakers, wildlife agencies and conservation organizations to increase awareness of the importance of mountain lions to our ecosystems and protect mountain lions threatened by human wildlife conflict and bad policies.
Building the Utah Wild Movement
Utah has become one of MLF’s most important state-level advocacy efforts.
Through Utah Wild, we are bringing together people from different backgrounds who share an interest in responsible wildlife management and healthy landscapes. Our team traveled through Kanab, Escalante, and Boulder to listen to community members, conservation partners, land managers, and local stakeholders.
We have also reached beyond traditional conservation circles, speaking with livestock producers, houndsmen, hunting organizations, and others to identify areas of common ground. These conversations are helping us build a broader coalition around science, transparency, and responsible management.
MLF has briefed policymakers and government-relations advisors, participated in public discussions and met with the editorial board of The Salt Lake Tribune to raise concerns about Utah’s mountain lion policies and the WRI-7707 predator-removal study.
We have also launched Utah Wild fact sheets, a website and dedicated social media channels, while supporting local volunteer outreach and opportunities to assist mountain lion research near Zion National Park.
Creating Practical Solutions in California
In El Dorado County, California, MLF is developing a locally grounded approach to mountain lion coexistence and public safety.
Rather than allowing disagreements to prevent progress, we have built relationships with local officials, wildlife professionals, researchers, and community members. The goal is to better understand why conflicts occur and identify practical ways to prevent them.
Potential solutions include improved animal husbandry, public education, nonlethal deterrents, and carefully defined responses to individual animals that present a genuine risk. MLF is also helping explore a research initiative that could test prevention and response tools while producing information useful to other communities.
This work reflects an important part of MLF’s approach: protecting mountain lions while taking community concerns seriously and helping residents access credible information and workable solutions.
Expanding Research and Education in Montana
Montana is becoming an important platform for connecting field research, agency collaboration, Tribal partnerships and public education.
MLF is developing a University of Montana internship project that would train students in noninvasive mountain lion monitoring. Students could use trail cameras, tracking, hair and scat sampling and science communication to better understand how lions move through the wildland-urban interface near Missoula.
We are also exploring collaboration with Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes staff and biologists on the Flathead Reservation. This work could support monitoring while helping incorporate Indigenous perspectives and traditional ecological knowledge into MLF’s educational programs.
Community screenings of Willow: Diary of a Mountain Lion in the Bitterroot and Arlee valleys have already reached approximately 70 people and generated thoughtful conversations about mountain lion conservation and coexistence.
Bringing the Lion Effect into Classrooms
MLF is preparing to launch a new K–12 curriculum for the 2026–27 school year.
Developed with education and wildlife-research partners, the curriculum will help students understand mountain lion ecology, food webs and the Lion Effect—the far-reaching role mountain lions play in sustaining healthy ecosystems.
MLF is preparing to launch a new K–12 curriculum for the 2026–27 school year.
Developed with education and wildlife-research partners, the curriculum will help students understand mountain lion ecology, food webs and The Lion Effect the far-reaching role mountain lions play in sustaining healthy ecosystems.
Students will also learn how researchers study elusive wildlife through trail cameras, tracks, genetic samples and other noninvasive techniques. Field videos, classroom activities, community events and social media content will reinforce a shared message grounded in facts rather than fear.
Science, Partnerships and a Growing Voice
Across all of this work, MLF is building relationships with wildlife agencies, researchers, and conservation organizations. Emerging partnerships are exploring mountain lion monitoring, nonlethal deterrents, habitat connectivity, community education, and better ways to measure whether coexistence programs are working.
MLF has also continued to serve as an evidence-based resource for journalists reporting mountain lion attacks, recolonization, public policy, and community concerns. In each instance, our message remains consistent: attacks are extremely rare, prevention matters and responsible public communication should be based on evidence—not sensationalism.
There is much more work ahead. During the remainder of 2026, MLF plans to launch the K–12 curriculum, advance research projects in Montana and California, expand Utah Wild, support additional community outreach and education, and develop new field-based educational content.
Every conversation, classroom, research project and policy effort helps move us toward a future in which people, mountain lions and wild landscapes can thrive together.
Your support makes this work possible. By donating, volunteering and sharing MLF’s resources, you can help us replace fear with facts and turn promising ideas into meaningful conservation action.
Help Shape the Future for Mountain Lions
The work ahead is ambitious, and it depends on people who believe mountain lions belong on healthy, connected landscapes.
Your support helps MLF bring science into policy conversations, build practical coexistence solutions with communities, advance research and education, and reach more people with the knowledge they need to understand and protect mountain lions.
Together, we can turn knowledge into action and help ensure a future where people, mountain lions, and wild landscapes thrive together.
