If you are someone who was closely watching the presidential election, today may be a difficult day for you, or it may be a day of celebration. Whatever your political leanings may be, I firmly believe that we can all agree on one thing: Our country’s beloved and important wildlife should not have to live their lives facing needless and ruthless persecution.

As you’ll likely remember, the Colorado-based members and volunteers of the Mountain Lion Foundation, along with our staff and Board of Directors, were “all in” on Prop 127 in Colorado, a ballot initiative that sought to protect Colorado’s mountain lions from trophy hunting. From knocking on doors to advocating on social media to helping pay for persuasive ads and staff time, we were there, working closely with Campaign Director Sam Miller and her team at Cats Aren’t Trophies. Unfortunately, in yesterday’s election, Prop 127 was not successful. Too many voters in Colorado were swayed by the opposition’s misleading and sometimes outright false messaging — and that opposition was incredibly well-funded by “dark money” PACs.

This was a big disappointment, but we are undaunted! The critically important work of the Mountain Lion Foundation continues in Colorado and across the country. I appreciate you, and I thank you for your support as a member of the Mountain Lion Foundation. The organization’s education, advocacy, and coexistence work is rooted in a deep partnership with our members, our volunteers, and the partnering organizations in our various coalitions. Let us all commit to learning what we can from this, and to using those lessons to strengthen our efforts moving forward.

Personally speaking, a setback like this tends to fire me up. It makes me mad and energizes me, and I’m ready to go roaring into the future: We’re going to knock it out of the park in the year ahead. Our mission — ensuring that mountain lions survive and flourish in the wild — is too important to do anything less.

Onward in 2025, for the lions!

R. Brent Lyles
Executive Director