Author: Staff

Voter-Designated Funds to Help Acquire and Link Critical Wildlife Habitat

Voter-Designated Funds to Help Acquire and Link Critical Wildlife Habitat

California mountain lions and other wildlife will benefit from a round of projects recently approved by the Wildlife Conservation Board. Projects include land acquisitions, habitat restorations, and improved access to critical wildlife territories – much of it funded through the 30-year-old Habitat Conservation Fund (HCF).

At its May 20 meeting, the Wildlife Conservation Board (WCB) approved $36.2 million in grants. Projects that will get funding through the HCF include:

    • A $635,000 grant to acquire 22 acres of riparian and floodplain habitat along the Santa Clara River in Los Angeles County. The project, called Robin’s Nest, will link critical habitat areas for numerous large mammals, including mountain lions, black bear, deer, and American badger.
    • A $10 million grant to acquire 235 acres that provide critical linkage both for movement of wildlife and species adaptation to climate change. The property is in the greater Coyote Valley corridor in Santa Clara County. The acquisition is part of a larger project to connect multiple trails and wilderness areas to maintain live-in habitat as well as daily and seasonal movement for bobcats, mountain lions, and other native species.
    • $880,000 to expand the Smith Creek Wildlife area in the SE corner of the Sierra Valley. This project will benefit the Loyalton-Truckee interstate deer herd as well as mountain lions, bobcats, and badgers.

Established in 1990 when voters approved Proposition 117, the HCF provides grants for projects that acquire and restore habitat to benefit fish and wildlife – including endangered species – in California. Last year, the legislature and Governor Newsom extended the fund for an additional 10 years.

The Wildlife Conservation Board approved projects that will be funded through sources other than the HCF. The projects that most directly benefit mountain lion habitat include:

    • $1.3 million to help the Truckee Donner Land Trust acquire 200 acres to preserve wildlife corridors and habitat linkages near Truckee in Nevada County.
    • $378,000 to make the Santa Ana to Palomar Mountains linkage more accessible to wildlife. The passageway is meant to help wildlife safely cross Interstate 15, but researchers have noted that mountain lions and other wildlife often approach the linkage without crossing. This project will address conditions that are believed to be preventing regular wildlife usage, including habitat disruption and unauthorized human presence.

Read more about these projects and others at:
https://cdfgnews.wordpress.com/2020/05/21/wildlife-conservation-board-funds-environmental-improvement-and-acquisition-projects-34/

Photo: Flickr – Stanislav Sedov

ACTION ALERT! HELP PRESERVE HABITAT FUNDING

ACTION ALERT! HELP PRESERVE HABITAT FUNDING

We need your help today on two issues that are vitally important to wildlife in California:

    • The Habitat Conservation Fund (HCF) is under attack. After voting to extend it for 10 years just last year, the Administration has placed a bill before the legislature that would end it permanently.
    • The Administration has also presented a budget for the California Department of Fish and Wildlife that is woefully under-funded and relies on taking money that would have gone to the Habitat Conservation Fund in order to fund ongoing CDFW programs.

What can you do?

Call or email both your Senator and Assembly person today!

Ask them to do these two things:

    • Please vote to reject the Administration’s Habitat Conservation Fund trailer bill which would permanently end the Habitat Conservation Fund, and
    • Please vote to ensure that the California Department of Fish and Wildlife is fully funded in order to protect our natural resources. At a minimum the funds that were to be stripped from the Habitat Conservation Fund should be replaced from the general fund.

You can find both of your legislators contact information here: http://findyourrep.legislature.ca.gov/

The Habitat Conservation Fund is a critical program that has provided 30 years of important habitat funding for projects all over California, including funding for waterfowl and wetlands protection, public access, and mountain lion habitat.

Please help today.

Humboldt County Agrees to Prioritize Nonlethal Solutions to Urban Wildlife Conflict

Humboldt County Agrees to Prioritize Nonlethal Solutions to Urban Wildlife Conflict

EUREKA, Calif. – In response to advocacy by the Mountain Lion Foundation and other animal protection and conservation groups, Humboldt County today approved a new contract with the federal wildlife killing program, Wildlife Services, that will result in far fewer native species being killed. The contract requires Wildlife Services to adopt numerous reforms, including placing a priority on nonlethal mitigation measures for wildlife complaints in urban and suburban areas.

The coalition of advocacy organizations had notified Humboldt County that its existing contract with Wildlife Services violated state law by allowing the use of lethal methods without considering their impacts to the environment. Advocates immediately started working with county officials to create an agreement emphasizing nonlethal controls and other reforms.

Under the modified contract, Wildlife Services cannot kill animals in urban or suburban areas of the county before implementing “all feasible nonlethal mitigation measures.” The new contract also imposes reporting requirements and restricts cruel or ecologically harmful killing methods such as pesticides, lead ammunition and body-gripping traps.

The coalition has reached similar agreements with other California counties; Shasta, Siskiyou, Monterey, Sonoma, and Mendocino Counties have all terminated, suspended, or considered the environmental effects of their contracts — either voluntarily or by court order – after the coalition and others took or threatened legal action.

“Co-existence with our wild lands and the animals that inhabitant them is not just possible but imperative to ecosystem balance,” said Debra Chase, CEO of the Mountain Lion Foundation. “We commend the county for taking this action.”

For nearly a decade, Humboldt County has employed Wildlife Services to kill hundreds of native animals under contract with Wildlife Services. Data from that federal wildlife-killing program shows that in the period from 2008-2017 in Humboldt County alone Wildlife Services killed at least 178 coyotes, 54 black bears, 43 gray foxes, 23 mountain lions, 483 raccoons, 880 skunks, and 112 opossums – overwhelmingly on behalf of the livestock industry.

Coalition groups said today that wildlife can rest a little easier because of today’s Humboldt County agreement. “We’re grateful that Humboldt County has taken this step towards more humane and effective management of its wildlife,” said Collette Adkins, carnivore conservation director at the Center for Biological Diversity. “I’m hopeful that the days of Wildlife Services’ indiscriminate and cruel killing of California’s wildlife are coming to an end.”

Members of the coalition point to an array of nonlethal methods that have long been available to the federal Wildlife Services program, but “this federal program has – for far too long – been given carte blanche by local governments to kill wildlife rather than find other solutions to mitigate human-wildlife conflict,” said Lindsay Larris, wildlife program director of WildEarth Guardians. “We are pleased that Humboldt County is taking a step towards coexistence in holding Wildlife Services to a higher standard of conduct that we hope to see emulated across the American West.”

The coalition includes the Animal Legal Defense Fund, Animal Welfare Institute, Center for Biological Diversity, Environmental Protection Information Center, Mountain Lion Foundation, Project Coyote and WildEarth Guardians.

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About the Animal Legal Defense Fund:
Forty years of fighting for animals: The Animal Legal Defense Fund was founded in 1979 to protect the lives and advance the interests of animals through the legal system. To accomplish this mission, the Animal Legal Defense Fund files high-impact lawsuits to protect animals from harm; provides free legal assistance and training to prosecutors to assure that animal abusers are punished for their crimes; supports tough animal protection legislation and fights harmful legislation; and provides resources and opportunities to law students and professionals to advance the emerging field of animal law. For more information, please visit aldf.org.

About the Environmental Protection Information Center (EPIC):
Since 1977, EPIC has advocated for the protection and restoration of Northwest California’s forests and wildlands, using an integrated, science-based approach, combining public education, citizen advocacy, and strategic litigation.

About the Center for Biological Diversity:
The Center for Biological Diversity is a national, nonprofit conservation organization with more than 1.7 million members and online activists dedicated to the protection of endangered species and wild places.

About the Mountain Lion Foundation:
The Mountain Lion Foundation is a 501c3 non-profit organization dedicated to the protection and preservation of America’s lion and their habitat. Since 1986 the Foundation and more than 7000 of its members have acted on the belief that mountain lions are in peril and our nation is on the verge of destroying this apex species upon which whole ecosystems depend. For more information, visit mountainlion.org

About Project Coyote:
Project Coyote, a national nonprofit organization headquartered in Northern California, is a coalition of wildlife educators, scientists, ranchers, and community leaders promoting coexistence between people and wildlife, and compassionate conservation through education, science, and advocacy. For more information, visit ProjectCoyote.org

About the Animal Welfare Institute:
The Animal Welfare Institute (www.awionline.org) is a nonprofit charitable organization founded in 1951 and dedicated to reducing animal suffering caused by people. AWI engages policymakers, scientists, industry, and the public to achieve better treatment of animals everywhere – in the laboratory, on the farm, in commerce, at home, and in the wild. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram for updates and other important animal protection news.

About WildEarth Guardians:
WildEarth Guardians is a non-profit organization, founded in 1989, committed to the protection and restoration of wildlife, wild places, wild rivers and the health of the American West. For more information, visit www.wildearthguardians.org

Photo credit: Valerie Abbott – Ucumari Photography

California Moves to Protect Imperiled Mountain Lion Populations

SACRAMENTO, Calif. – In response to a petition from the Center for Biological Diversity and the Mountain Lion Foundation, the California Fish and Game Commission voted 5-0 today to advance Southern California and Central Coast mountain lions to candidacy under the state’s Endangered Species Act. The vote follows a February 2020 finding by the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) that increased protections may be warranted.

The vote triggers a year-long review by CDFW to determine if these populations should be formally protected under the Act. The Act’s protections apply during the candidacy period.

“This is a historic moment for California’s big cats and rich biodiversity,” said Tiffany Yap, a biologist at the Center and primary author of the petition. “These ecosystem engineers face huge threats that could wipe out key populations. But with state protections, we can start reversing course to save our mountain lions. Wildlife officials deserve a big round of applause for moving to protect these amazing animals.”

Genetic isolation due to roads and development threatens the health of the six puma populations included in the petition. Despite a more than thirty-year ban on sport-hunting, some mountain lion populations have low survival rates due to high levels of human-caused mortalities. Major threats include car strikes, poisonings and sanctioned depredation kills.

Researchers with the National Park Service, UC Davis and UCLA warn that if nothing is done to improve connectivity for these wide-ranging large carnivores, populations in the Santa Ana and Santa Monica mountains could go extinct within 50 years. And those in the Santa Cruz, San Gabriel and San Bernardino mountains are showing similar patterns.

“We’re grateful to the Department of Fish and Wildlife for their efforts and proud of the commission’s leadership to protect California’s mountain lions,” said Debra Chase, CEO of the Mountain Lion Foundation. “By advancing these mountain lion populations to candidacy, they are helping to ensure that these iconic cats inspire future generations.”

State protections under the Act will help address the many threats these lions face. Local authorities will need to coordinate with state wildlife experts to ensure that approved development projects account for mountain lion connectivity.

State agencies also will have a legal mandate to protect mountain lions. This could include building wildlife crossings over existing freeways; crossings have been shown to help maintain wildlife movement and reduce costly and dangerous wildlife-vehicle collisions.

State officials will also need to re-evaluate the use of deadly rat poisons in mountain lion habitat.

And the California Department of Fish and Wildlife will be able to develop and implement a mountain lion recovery plan to help facilitate coexistence with mountain lions.

The Center for Biological Diversity is a national, nonprofit conservation organization with more than 1.7 million members and online activists dedicated to the protection of endangered species and wild places.

The Mountain Lion Foundation is a national nonprofit organization founded in 1986. For more than 30 years, the foundation has worked with member volunteers and partner organizations to further policies that protect mountain lions and their habitat. For more information, visit mountainlion.org.

Photo credit: National Park Service

Judge Blocks California Development That Threatens Santa Ana Mountain Lions

 

Judge Blocks California Development That Threatens Santa Ana Mountain Lions

TEMECULA, Calif. – In a victory over a development that could doom local mountain lions, a judge issued a scathing ruling against the proposed 270-acre Altair development in Western Riverside County in California.Judge Daniel Ottolia found that the development’s environmental review failed to properly account for impacts to imperiled Santa Ana mountain lions. The ruling also found that the development was not consistent with Temecula’s general plan or a regional habitat conservation plan.

“The ruling affirms concerns raised by scientists and conservation groups that the Altair development could be a death knell for local mountain lions,” said J.P. Rose, an attorney at the Center for Biological Diversity. “The judge threw a lifeline to these highly imperiled cats, who need all the help they can get. Now the city and developer have to go back to the drawing board and rethink this damaging project.”

Part of the development sits on the 55-acre “South Parcel” – one of the only passages left for wildlife to move between coastal and inland mountains. The court also ruled against the development on a host of other issues, including that the environmental review incorrectly downplayed impacts on the imperiled western pond turtle and San Diego ambrosia.

“With wildlife connectivity so restricted in southwest Riverside County, this ruling is a positive step for mountain lions and many other species that need this corridor to survive,” said Pam Nelson of the Sierra Club’s Santa Margarita Group.

The ruling comes just days before the state fish and game commission’s April 16 vote on whether to grant the Santa Ana mountain lions and five other cougar populations initial protections under the state’s endangered species act. The Center and Mountain Lion Foundation petitioned the state to protect these populations in June 2019, and state wildlife officials recommended in February that the petition move forward.

“We are grateful that this ruling came in time to protect one of the few remaining wildlife corridors in the region,” said Debra Chase, CEO of the Foundation.

Some Southern California lion populations could disappear in little more than a decade, according to a March 2019 study. Researchers with the National Park Service, UC Davis and UCLA warn that if enough inbreeding occurs, the Santa Ana population could go extinct within 12 years and the Santa Monica population within 15.

“We’re very pleased that the court recognized the importance of the corridor to the survival of the Santa Ana mountain lions,” said Vicki Long, of Cougar Connection. “We look forward to working on improving the functionality of the corridor so these big cats have a fighting chance.”

The lawsuit was filed in January 2018 by the Center for Biological Diversity, which represents the other conservation groups.

The Center for Biological Diversity is a national, nonprofit conservation organization with more than 1.7 million members and online activists dedicated to the protection of endangered species and wild places.

The Sierra Club is America’s largest and most influential grassroots environmental organization, with more than 2.4 million members and supporters nationwide. In addition to creating opportunities for people of all ages, levels and locations to have meaningful outdoor experiences, the Sierra Club works to safeguard the health of our communities, protect wildlife, and preserve our remaining wild places through grassroots activism, public education, lobbying, and litigation.

The Mountain Lion Foundation is a national, nonprofit organization founded in 1986. For more than 30 years, the foundation has worked with member volunteers and partner organizations to further policies that protect mountain lions and their habitat. For more information, visit mountainlion.org.

Cougar Connection is a nonprofit, public interest organization that is dedicated to the preservation of Puma concolor, Cougar populations, open space, wildlife connectivity, and public education.

California’s Mountain Lions Receive Further Protection

In a welcome move to protect California’s mountain lions, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) expanded the boundary of the three strikes mountain lion depredation policy, effective February 13, 2020. Originally adopted in 2017, the policy requires landowners that have had pets or livestock attacked to first try non-lethal means to deter mountain lions from future attacks of their domestic animals. After the third strike, the landowner can request a lethal depredation permit from CDFW.

Mountain lion populations and ESU boundary

The policy change also requires a CDFW Response Guidance Team to review all mountain lion depredation permit requests with involvement and final approval from the CDFW executive office.

Since the recent death of P-56, one of the last remaining male lions in an area of the Santa Monica Mountains and the first lion killed under the three strikes policy, public and legislative outcry convinced CDFW that there is a need for an expanded boundary of protection and an executive authority to approve any requested lethal depredation.

The new boundary matches the boundary area mapped in a recently recommended California Endangered Species Act petition brought forth by the Mountain Lion Foundation, a Sacramento based non-profit and the Center for Biological Diversity. Current protections under California law couldn’t save P-56, the first lion killed under the state’s three strikes law, yet there is now hope that P-56 didn’t die in vain.

With the CDFW recommendation to accept the groups’ CESA petition that could potentially trigger a full review of the status of six mountain lion sub populations in central and southern California, and with the expansion of the three strikes policy’s geographic range, Californians have had their hope revitalized that something good come out of P-56’s death.

“Without these protections, certain populations of California’s lion could disappear in little more than a decade, further eroding the gene pool and potentially sending these iconic cats one step closer to extinction,’ stated Debra Chase, CEO of the Mountain Lion Foundation. “This action shows that California, with some of the strongest protections for mountain lions in the nation, continues to serve as the model for other states.”

“This action by CDFW shows its support for California’s desire to protect its lions, while also protecting the interests of livestock owners. It reflects the ongoing work of MLF, the Center, CDFW and the legislature to ensure the future of America’s lion,” added Bob McCoy, Chair of the Mountain Lion Foundation.

The Mountain Lion Foundation is a national nonprofit organization founded in 1986. For more than 30 years, the foundation has worked with member volunteers and partner organizations to further policies that protect mountain lions and their habitat. For more information, visit mountainlion.org.
Photo: National Park Service

Hope for California’s Southern and Central Coast Mountain Lions

Hope for California’s Southern and Central Coast Mountain Lions

Current protections under California law couldn’t save P-56, the first lion killed under the States three strikes law, yet there is now hope that P-56 didn’t die in vain. The Petition to list California’s mountain lion under the California endangered species act (CESA) was jointly filed in June of 2019 by the Mountain Lion Foundation and the Center for Biological Diversity and now the California Department of Fish and Wildlife has taken the bold step to recommended that the California mountain lion, from Santa Cruz to the Mexico border move closer to protection under CESA.

Continue reading the press release here…

Washington cougars need your help!

Washington State’s cougars – mountain lions – need your help today. Special interests have convinced the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife to consider new rules regarding cougar hunting in Washington. The Fish and Wildlife Commission is going to vote on one of four options, or it could vote to not change anything. “Option 1 Status quo median density” is the least onerous choice that citizens are asked to choose from, the other three options will greatly increase the number of cats that hunters can kill. Options 2, 3, and 4 have no support from scientific research, whereas Option 1 is closest to biologists’ recommendations.

Please take a moment today to send an email to wildthing@dfw.wa.gov and state in your own words that you prefer the Commission to either choose Option 1, or leave the cougar hunting rules as they are by taking no action. One or two sentences will be enough. However, if you do not indicate Option 1 as preferred, your email might be classified as non-responsive and disregarded. Please take a moment now to submit your email.

Mountain Lion Foundation is working actively behind the scenes in Washington State to reduce or eliminate cougar hunting. We are forced to request our supporters support Option 1 to prevent far more cougars from being slaughtered in the near future. The comments on the proposed changes closes shortly which is why we ask that you take a few minutes now to email wildthing@dfw.wa.gov and indicate Option 1 as your choice.

Comments are due by March 31.

Written comments can also be mailed to:

WDFW Wildlife Program
PO Box 43200
Olympia, WA 98504

You can read WDFW’s detailed cougar proposals here.

Visit our Washington campaign page for more information on our efforts in the state:

MountainLion.org/Washington

Photo credit: National Park Service

The Cougar Conundrum – Sharing the World with a Successful Predator

 

A Conversation about Cougars

Presented on August 6, 2020

Mountain lion biologist and expert Dr. Mark Elbroch, in his just released book: The Cougar Conundrum, delivers a resource for how humans and mountain lions can peacefully coexist in close proximity. Dr. Elbroch calls on readers to ignore uninformed hype and instead arm ourselves with knowledge and become active participants in the creation of cougar conservation management strategies.

In case you missed it, watch it now!

 

Oregonians show up for cougars in Bend this month

 

Oregonians show up for cougars in Bend this month

The Mountain Lion Foundation and the Humane Society of the United States held a community event titled, “Living with Oregon’s Cougars: Prevent Conflicts and Coexistence” on November 12th in Bend, Oregon. Around 80 Oregonians turned out to the workshop, eager to learn about the status of cougars in their state, as well as steps they could take in their own communities to ensure a future for apex predators amid growing conflicts.Prior to the event, Mountain Lion Foundation’s Wildlife Biologist & Conservation Specialist Korinna Domingo spoke with Sean Coleman on radio station KBND, encouraging the local community, law enforcement, and the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife employees to attend.

Haley Stewart welcomes workshop attendees. | Photo: Mountain Lion Foundation
Kelly Peterson, the Senior Oregon State Director for the Humane Society of the United States, led attendees through a three part lecture series featuring the following speakers: Wildlife Protection Manager with the Humane Society of the United States Haley Stewart, Carnivore Biologist Dr. Robert Weilgus, and the Mountain Lion Foundation’s Korinna Domingo.

Items on the workshop agenda were straightforward: (1) State of cougars in Oregon, (2) Human and livestock conflicts, (3) Strategies and tools for preventing conflicts, and (4) What to do if a conflict does occur. Stewart’s talk focused on currently policy and conflicts in Oregon, while Weilgus presented on cougar ecology and population dynamics. Domingo went through practical solutions in preventing human-cougar conflicts, and even demonstrated the proper use of air horns (which the kids thoroughly enjoyed). Every event participant left with their own air horn and the knowledge of how to properly use it, courtesy of the Mountain Lion Foundation.

One of our common goals was to instill confidence in workshop attendees, and empower Oregon residents to talk with their neighbors, community members, and local decision makers about the importance of coexistence and using non-lethal conflict prevention tools to handle conflicts or encounters with cougars and other wildlife.

To that end, we have included several action items for Oregonians to consider:

    • Reach out to your community: Talk with your friends, family, neighbors, community groups about steps they can take to prevent conflicts with cougars and other wildlife. You can even speak with your local HOA board and city council members about implementing non-lethal tools and strategies in your communities, like wildlife-proof trash cans.
    • Tell the media: You can submit letters to the editor and opinion pieces to your local media outlets sharing your thoughts on coexisting with these animals and using non-lethal strategies to prevent conflicts.
    • Talk with local law enforcement: If you don’t like the way responders are handling wildlife conflicts, tell them. They want and need to hear from you!
    • Meet with your legislators: You can speak with your legislators about protecting wildlife like cougars from lethal control. They typically host regular coffee meetings or town halls with their constituents just to hear from folks like you. You can find your state lawmakers here: https://www.oregonlegislature.gov/FindYourLegislator/leg-districts.html

Thank you to all the Bend residents for attending the Coexisting with Native Carnivores Workshop. We sincerely hope you found the information presented valuable, relevant, and useful in coexisting safely with cougars and in developing a better understanding of cougars in general.

Mountain Lion Foundation is very appreciative of Kelly Peterson and Haley Stewart for inviting us to speak and organizing such a fun and successful event.

The Humane Society of the United States and the Mountain Lion Foundation stand ready as a resource and would like to help Oregonians in their efforts to help build greater tolerance for Oregon’s native carnivores.