Tag: Wildlife

CANCELLED: Lions in Nebraska – The Golden Ghosts Return: A Conversation with Author Valerie Vierk

Event Cancelled:
Mountain Lions in Nebraska – The Golden Ghosts Return: A Conversation with Author Valerie Vierk

October 14, 2021 @ 1:00PM — 2:30PM Pacific Time (US & Canada) includes limited live Q&A afterwards.

Unfortunately, due to poor weather and technological issues, this event has been cancelled. We will send out details on rescheduling or alternate options soon.

Join us for a conversation with author Valerie Vierk as she discusses her book – “Mountain Lions in Nebraska – The Golden Ghosts Return” with the Mountain Lion Foundation’s own Jessica Janson.

About Valerie Vierk:
Valerie Vierk is an author who writes poetry, fiction and non-fiction. A writer since her earliest years, in 2005 she published her first book, Gold Stars and Purple Hearts—the War Dead of the Ravenna Area.

Valerie’s sixth book, Mountain Lions in Nebraska—The Golden Ghosts Return, covers a brief history of mountain lions during the colonial times of the United States. It then weaves a tale of the lion in Nebraska during the early 1900s, moving into the “modern era” and the first documented killing of a cougar in the northwestern part of the state. The book tells the history of the often contentious issue of the big golden cats returning to their former homes in the Midwest after an absence of over a hundred years. Mountain Lions In Nebraska also gives brief histories of Nebraska’s neighboring states that allow trophy hunting of mountain lions–South Dakota, Colorado, and Wyoming. The book is richly illustrated with 90 photos, many taken by the author, plus political cartoons, maps, and charts.

Valerie’s fascination with mountain lions started in childhood. She believes it was prompted by her mother reading her and her brother Laura Ingalls Wilder’s Little House in the Big Woods. In this book, Pa Ingalls tells of a “black panther” chasing him and his horse through the woods. Garth Williams provided two sketches on the black panther and years later, upon looking at the book again, realized that was probably where her fascination for cougars began.

Additionally, Valerie is a life-long nature lover. She credits her late mother, Virginia, with introducing her to nature at a young age. Since 1974, Valerie has maintained a large bluebird trail to help the eastern bluebirds that are in need of housing since natural nesting sites are in short supply. In 2021, Valerie has a 140 box bluebird trail.

In 2012 she founded a non-profit titled “Holly Jean’s Hope Cat Spaying” to help the unowned cats of her little town of Ravenna, population 1,340. Years later this organization now feeds many cats each day in three locations.

Purchase Valerie’s book here:
Mountain Lions in Nebraska: The Golden Ghosts Return

Mountain lion shot and killed in Tucson, Arizona

Last Friday, a young male mountain lion was shot by a resident of Tucson, Arizona. The man found his dogs barking at the lion in his backyard, and claims that it charged him. Arizona Game and Fish Department (AZGFD) officials determined this to be a legal act of self-defense. They found the mountain lion, still alive, approximately a mile away from the scene. Officials decided to euthanize the young lion due to the severity of his injuries.

Tucson residents are well-accustomed to the presence of mountain lions in the area, with sightings documented as recently as just a few weeks prior. Under agency policy, mountain lions found to be a potential threat to human safety, such as due to behavior or location, are to be killed.

Beloved Beasts: a Conversation with Author Michelle Nijhuis

Beloved Beasts: a Conversation with Author Michelle Nijhuis

In the late nineteenth century, humans came at long last to a devastating realization: their rapidly industrializing and globalizing societies were driving scores of animal species to extinction. In Beloved Beasts, acclaimed science journalist Michelle Nijhuis traces the history of the movement to protect and conserve other forms of life. From early battles to save charismatic species such as the American bison and bald eagle to today’s global effort to defend life on a larger scale, Nijhuis’s “spirited and engaging” account documents “the changes of heart that changed history” (Dan Cryer, Boston Globe).

As the destruction of other species continues and the effects of climate change wreak havoc on our world, Beloved Beasts charts the ways conservation is becoming a movement for the protection of all species, including our own.

About Michelle Nijhuis:

Michelle Nijhuis is the author of the new book Beloved Beasts: Fighting for Life in an Age of Extinction. She is a project editor for The Atlantic and a longtime contributing editor for High Country News, and her reporting has appeared in publications including National Geographic and the New York Times Magazine. After 15 years off the electrical grid in rural Colorado, she and her family now live in southwestern Washington state.

Letter: CPW needs to end mountain lion hunts

Letter: CPW needs to end mountain lion hunts

Of all the outdoor adventures I have experienced in more than four decades traversing Colorado, my solo encounter with a mountain lion last year on a trail a few miles south of Hot Sulphur Springs ranks at the top of the list.

The big cat and I locked eyes and exchanged pleasantries for several seconds before he (or she) graciously stepped off the trail and trotted nobly into the scrub. It was an exhilarating few moments with a rarely seen cougar, the proverbial “phantom of the forest.”

Courtesy: Jason Klassi

Unfortunately, my fond memory has since been overshadowed by the fear that the glorious wild animal that I encountered may well have been shot to death by now for no better reason than the gratification of a trophy hunter. Sadly, Colorado Parks and Wildlife allows annual cougar “harvests” even though surveys clearly show that most Coloradans oppose trophy hunting of mountain lions as well as other wild cats.

Trophy hunting of cougars serves no legitimate wildlife management purpose. Indeed, scientific studies show clearly that killing of cougars threatens not only the big cats but also has a negative trickle-down effect on non-targeted species in the wildlife chain.

Trophy killing usually entails unleashing dogs to chase down and tree an exhausted and terrified cat before shooting it to death. Whether such an action can be called “hunting” is doubtful, but there is no doubt that it cannot be called “sporting.” For this reason, surveys have shown, most legitimate hunters in Colorado oppose trophy hunting as well as trapping of wild cats.

In the next round of hunting review CPW should follow the science as well as ethical behavior and eliminate the senseless and destructive policy of allowing trophy killing of cougars. Indiscriminate killing has no place in any legitimate “management plan” of wild cat populations in Colorado and throughout the American West.

— Walter Lawrence Hixson, Akron, Ohio

Reposted from:  https://www.skyhinews.com/letter-to-the-editor/letter-cpw-needs-to-end-mountain-lion-hunts/

Utah Wildlife Board approves excessive 2021-22 hunt recommendations

For immediate release

Date:  August 26, 2021

Contact:  
Debra Chase, CEO, Mountain Lion Foundation
DChase@mountainlion.org
916-442-2666 ext. 103

Utah Wildlife Board approves excessive 2021-22 hunt recommendations

Salt Lake City, UT – Utah’s newly approved hunting targets for mountain lions are excessive and unsustainable, according to an analysis by conservation advocates. The Utah Wildlife Board voted Thursday to allow unlimited cougar hunting in most of the state, and to place harvest limits elsewhere. During the 2020-21 cougar hunting season, a record 702 kills by hunters and Wildlife Services were reported by the Division of Wildlife Resources (DWR).

“Allowing trophy hunters to kill so many of our cougars is not only unsustainable, it is not good management, and does not support the DWR’s mission of serving the people of Utah as “trustee and guardian of the state’s protected wildlife,” stated Denise Peterson, Conservation Advocate for the Mountain Lion Foundation and resident of Utah. She continued, “The majority of Utahans do not support the killing of the state’s lions to appease a small handful of wildlife stakeholders and it is high time that management decisions reflect this reality.”

Under the plan, 33 of the 53 cougar hunting units will allow unlimited year-round harvest and have a goal of >40% female harvest. For the remaining 20 cougar hunt units, DWR recommended that hunters be permitted to kill up to 297 cougars. The policy allows a single hunter to kill up to 2 cougars per year, but does not allow the killing of cougars that have been collared by researchers statewide.

According to DWR, a record number of cougars were killed by hunters and Wildlife Services during the 2020-21 season: 702 documented mortalities. The Mountain Lion Foundation estimates, based on available suitable habitat and the solitary nature of cougars, suggests that the state may be home to around 1,600 adult-aged mountain lions. DWR estimated in 2019 that the state has 70% more lions: 2,700 individuals. DWR’s inflated population estimates were used to justify the high hunting quotas approved by the Wildlife Board.

“I worry that these excessive hunting limits will only increase conflicts between lions and domestic animals, and do little to achieve management goals of boosting big game species like mule deer and bighorn sheep,” says MLF’s Peterson. “Cougars continue to get the blame for mule deer and bighorn sheep declines, but there are many other factors that influence deer and sheep survival, including drought and lack of quality forage. Studies have even shown that hunting disrupts cougar social structures and increases conflicts with livestock and predation on declining prey.”

If you want to support our efforts or get involved in Utah, visit MountainLion.org.

Founded in 1986, the Mountain Lion Foundation is a national nonprofit organization with a mission to ensure that America’s lion survives and flourishes in the wild.

Action Required! Stop the South Dakota Petition to Expand Hound Hunting and Protect Mountain Lions from Trophy Hunting

UPDATE:

At the September 2021 meeting, the South Dakota Game, Fish & Parks Commission voted to adopt the recommended changes to the mountain lion hunt for the 2021 – 2023 seasons. They also voted to adopt change rules to allow the use of dogs to hunt mountain lion to include all property owned by the Department of Game, Fish and Parks and also the land commonly known as Grasslands managed by the Forest Service.

The approved recommendations are as follows:

Black Hills:

  • December 26, 2021 – April 30, 2022
  • December 26, 2022 – April 30, 2023

Prairie: Year-round

Licenses:

  • Residents: Unlimited licenses

Harvest Limit:  Black Hills Fire Protection District: 60 mountain lions or 40 female mountain lions (includes Custer State Park)

We would like to thank everyone who took the time to submit comments to the SDGFP Commission. We will continue to fight to protect mountain lions in South Dakota and across America!

Action Required! Stop the South Dakota Petition to Expand Hound Hunting and Protect Mountain Lions from Trophy Hunting

South Dakota Game, Fish and Parks has received a petition from the South Dakota Houndsmen Association to expand hound hunting across the state to include any public land, unless the public land specifically prohibits such, for the use of dogs (hounds) to hunt mountain lions when a pursuit originates on private land.

Fewer than 300 mature-age mountain lions are thought to reside in South Dakota and they must be protected. It is imperative that you let Game, Fish and Parks know that you are opposed to this petition that would expand hound hunting of mountain lions throughout the state!

In addition to harming the mountain lion population, higher levels of trophy hunting can result in increased conflicts with humans, pets and livestock. In areas with low to no trophy hunting of wild cats, conflicts are quite rare compared to areas with higher trophy hunting.

Please submit a comment to the South Dakota Game, Fish and Parks Commission by 11:59 PM on August 28th and tell them to oppose the South Dakota Houndsmen Association’s petition to expand hound hunting of mountain lions in South Dakota and to protect mountain lions from trophy hunting.

To submit your comment, select “Mountain Lion Season Restrictions” to comment on the petition and “Mountain Lion Hunting Seasons” to comment on SDGFP’s hunt recommendations. These are found under “Position Comment.”

Thank you for speaking up for South Dakota’s mountain lions!

Saving America’s Lion – Restoring Our Earth

51 years ago Earth Day was founded. One of the largest grass roots movements in support of environmental protections. That day in 1970, an estimated 20 million people attended the festivities and marched in the streets demanding that our government do more to save our planet. 20 years later it rose to 200 million and today it is estimated that one billion people celebrate the Earth and will march in the streets for stronger environmental protections this April 22nd.

This Earth Day, after a year that tested us beyond measure, many of us are anxious, bored, over worked or worse, unemployed. We are ready to get out of the house. To help you celebrate the importance of this Earth Day we aren’t presenting a webinar to watch, a town hall meeting to attend or even a march. Today is for the Earth and we are asking you to step up and do something really radical. Something that could very well change your life or at least allow you to see your life and the planet from a different perspective. We are asking you to go outside. Take a hike through a forest, walk by a lake or alongside a river. Hug some trees and put your bare feet in the water. Experience the natural world in all of its glorious splendor.

Allow yourself to indulge in an old fashioned adventure. An adventure where you don’t know how long the trail is, or where the hike will lead you, where it ends, or what previous walkers, runners, bicyclists, or hikers thought about it as posted on social media or in the latest review ap. So please, have an adventure, unplug and go outside.

As you embrace nature and your own inner transformation, you’ll discover that your power—and responsibility—to change the world around you are far greater than you’ve known.

Watch the beautiful video above as your entry into the wild and then get out there. Just walk or hike or ride a bike. Find a park, nature preserves, a forest or some other place that is natural and free. Discover what you have missed, listen to the quiet and pay homage to the planet that sustains us.

Earth. This is your Day. We recognize you. We celebrate you.

Today We Celebrate 35 Years!

The Mountain Lion Celebrates its 35th year protecting and preserving America’s Lion!

Today marks the date of our inception and the last 35 years as the only organization solely dedicated to Saving America’s lion.

Today we are celebrating not only us, but we also celebrate 35 years of your dedication and support! We hope you enjoy this short movie that highlights the many challenges we have faced together and the victories you helped us win on behalf of the lion!

Here’s to the next 35 years together!

P.S. LOOK FOR MORE CELEBRATIONS TO COME!

Bighorn’s Gordian Knot: Beyond the Dance of the Predator Prey Relationship

Bighorn’s Gordian Knot: Beyond the Dance of the Predator Prey Relationship

Interspersed with exclusive video, Leslie will discuss the complexity of issues facing the recovery of bighorn sheep; how mountain lions are being culled for bighorn relocations into their historic ranges; and what the future might hold for healthy bighorn populations.

“If we value bighorn sheep, then there needs to be a way to fund programs that support bighorns other than through hunts and super tags. There is something obscene in the sole financial support to save bighorns throughout the West—native wildlife that are in the public trust—relying on a sliver of mega-rich trophy hunters. Additionally, being dependent exclusively on hunters for bighorn dollars creates a vicious cycle that pressures agencies to put more bighorns on every mountain so as to increase revenue. It also fuels extreme predator management programs like in New Mexico, where the culling of lions never ends despite bighorn herds that are thriving.” – Bighorns’ Gordian Knot

 

About Leslie Patten:

Leslie Patten is a naturalist and writer. Living for over fifteen years in Northwest Wyoming, she loves exploring, hiking, and camera trapping wildlife. In her book Ghostwalker: Tracking a Mountain Lion’s Soul through Science and Story, she interviewed over fifty wildlife biologists, trackers, conservationists and houndsmen to reveal the hidden world of mountain lions. Her most recent book, Shadow Landscape, is a compilation of wildlife stories. Continuing her research into mountain lions, Shadow Landscape contains an essay entitled Bighorns’ Gordian Knot that investigates the tangled and politically fraught issue of bighorn sheep and mountain lions.

World Lion Day

It’s World Lion Day! Today, we are celebrating America’s Lion: The Mountain Lion

Mountain lions are known by many names, including cougar, puma, catamount, painter, panther, and many more. They are the most wide-ranging cat species in the world and are found as far north as Canada and as far south as Chile.

Mountain lions are highly adaptable to situations and environments, and this adaptability has enabled them to survive across much of their original range in the America’s, despite severe habitat loss and active threats like trophy hunting.

This World Lion Day, join us in celebrating the adaptability and resiliency of America’s Lion, while helping to ensure their continued existence in America’s future:  MountainLion.org/Donate