Who We Are
The mission of the Mountain Lion Foundation is to ensure that America’s lion survives and flourishes in the wild.
Founded in 1986, we exist to protect mountain lions and the connected landscapes they depend on. Once ranging from coast to coast, America’s lion now navigates increasingly fragmented western habitats—crossing highways, moving through shrinking territory, and surviving in landscapes shaped by human decisions. Their future will not be determined by myth or politics, but by whether we choose evidence over fear and connection over fragmentation.
Mountain lions are keystone predators. Where they persist, ecosystems regain balance. Deer populations stabilize. Forests regenerate. Watersheds strengthen. Their presence signals ecological resilience. Their loss signals imbalance.
That is why we replace fear with facts. We translate science into policy. We protect and reconnect critical habitat. We champion non-lethal coexistence as the standard—not the exception. And we build durable systems designed to endure beyond political cycles.
Protecting mountain lions is about more than one species. It is about restoring balance in a changing landscape and demonstrating that science-based conservation can prevail. It is about ensuring that wildness remains part of our shared future.
Together with our supporters and partners, we are building a future where America’s lion continues to move across connected landscapes—quietly, vitally, alive.
And where the wild still endures.