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Urge Governor Inslee to reverse the undemocratic and arbitrary cougar-quota decision

September 18, 2015/in News

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In April 2015, in an abrupt two-minute exchange, the Washington Department of Fish & Wildlife Commission raised the hunting quota for cougars (Puma concolor) by 50 to 100 percent in areas of the state where wolves also live. The Commission made this decision without providing prior notice to the public, giving the public no opportunity to comment, and without the benefit of a formal presentation of cougar population dynamics by the Department of Fish & Wildlife’s own biologists.

Timeline: Washington Wildlife Commission snubbed hundreds of citizens

On June 30, animal welfare, conservation organizations and Dr. Gary Koehler, former research scientist with the Department, filed a formal petition that asked the Commission to reverse this arbitrary decision. On August 21, the Commission voted 7 to 1 to keep its controversial decision in place, ignoring more than 1,300 citizens and several non-governmental organizations.

On September 18, The Humane Society of the United States, Center for Biological Diversity, Mountain Lion Foundation, WildFutures The Cougar Fund, Predator Defense, The Lands Council, Kettle Range Conservation Group and Dr. Gary Kohler, submitted an appeal to Governor Inslee to return cougar hunting quotas to scientifically-justifiable levels.

The Commission failed to follow its own rules, wasted millions of tax dollars.

  • According to 13 years of Washington–based, scientific research, the Commission’s April 2015 quotas will harm some cougar populations and increase mortality to dependent cougar kittens.
  • The Commission wasted an estimated 5 million dollars of taxpayer money when it jettisoned the cougar studies conducted in Washington.
  • The Commission failed to uphold the public’s trust in wildlife management. It failed to follow its own rules concerning giving the public adequate notice. The abrupt decision gave the public no opportunity to voice an opinion.

Washington residents highly value cougars.

In 2010, the wildlife department spent considerable taxpayer dollars researching Washingtonians’ values about cougars. Studies found that Washingtonians—including those in rural areas—highly value cougars with more than 90 percent in agreement that cougars are essential to their ecosystems and have an inherent right to live.¹ Washington citizens value cougars as icons of the wild and want them conserved, not turned into trophies as evidenced by a strong majority of voters, who in 1996, banned the hounding of cougars by ballot initiative.

When one cougar is killed, it harms the entire population

If a hunter kills a nursing female cougar, her young kittens will die from starvation or dehydration. Additionally, when hunters remove the stable adult cougars from a population, it attracts young male cougars to these vacancies. The immigrating young males often times will kill the kittens from the previous male so they can sire their own. In the process, however, females defending their kittens are also frequently killed too. It’s not just the one cougar in the hunter’s crosshairs who dies: hunting causes a harmful domino effect in cougar populations.²

Please contact Governor Inslee and urge him to support the appeal and reverse the Commission’s ill-considered decision.

[contact-form-7 id=”4829″ title=”Contact Governor Inslee in Washington”]


¹Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, “Cougar Outreach and Education in Washington State” (Nov. 30, 2010).

²C. M. S. Lambert et al., “Cougar Population Dynamics and Viability in the Pacific Northwest,” Journal of Wildlife Management 70, (2006); H. S. Cooley et al., “Source Populations in Carnivore Management: Cougar Demography and Emigration in a Lightly Hunted Population,” Animal Conservation 12, no. 4 (2009); H. S. Cooley et al., “Does Hunting Regulate Cougar Populations? A Test of the Compensatory Mortality Hypothesis,” Ecology 90, no. 10 (2009); H. S. Robinson and R. Desimone, “The Garnet Range Mountain Lion Study: Characteristics of a Hunted Population in West- Central Montana: Final Report,” Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks, (2011); H. S. Robinson et al., “A Test of the Compensatory Mortality Hypothesis in Mountain Lions: A Management Experiment in West-Central Montana,” Journal of Wildlife Management 78, no. 5 (2014); H. S. Robinson et al., “Sink Populations in Carnivore Management: Cougar Demography and Immigration in a Hunted Population,” Ecological Applications 18, no. 4 (2008); R. B. Wielgus et al., “Effects of Male Trophy Hunting on Female Carnivore Population Growth and Persistence,” Biological Conservation 167, (2013); R. A. Beausoleil et al., “Research to Regulation: Cougar Social Behavior as a Guide for Management,” Wildlife Society Bulletin 37, no. 3 (2013); Kaylie A. Peebles et al., “Effects of Remedial Sport Hunting on Cougar Complaints and Livestock Depredations,” Plos One 8, no. 11 (2013).

https://cougarfund.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/CougarFundBlack.png 0 0 Penny https://cougarfund.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/CougarFundBlack.png Penny2015-09-18 16:14:462015-09-18 16:14:46Urge Governor Inslee to reverse the undemocratic and arbitrary cougar-quota decision

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An important new study adds to the body of evidence being amassed by researchers that supports the important ecological contributions of cougars as a keystone species. A direct quote in the article from Panthera's Puma Program Director Mark Elbroch as follows, "To those who care for the well-being of wildlife and the wild habitats sustaining all living beings, these findings yet again demonstrate the value and need to conserve the Americas' pumas." ... See MoreSee Less

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Study suggests pumas utilize sly strategy of fertilizing plants that recruit prey to hunting grounds

phys.org

A new Panthera study published today in Landscape Ecology has found that pumas might utilize a sly hunting strategy known as 'garden to hunt,' by which puma kills fertilize or deposit nutrients in soi...
21 hours ago
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Remember all the things you did before they went into the den?BEAR SPRAY, MAKE NOISE, RECREATE IN GROUPS, FOOD STORAGE PRECAUTIONS, and be aware that energy out is very expensive for a bear after not eating for a few months so if there is a trail or winter track, that is probably the route the bear will choose...
Lets protect them by minding our own behaviour!

Remember all the things you did before they went into the den?BEAR SPRAY, MAKE NOISE, RECREATE IN GROUPS, FOOD STORAGE PRECAUTIONS, and be aware that energy out is very expensive for a bear after not eating for a few months so if there is a trail or winter track, that is probably the route the bear will choose...
Let's protect them by minding our own behaviour!(News Release) On Tuesday, March 7, a Yellowstone National Park wildlife biologist on a radio telemetry flight observed the first grizzly bear of 2023 to emerge from hibernation. The adult bear, estimated at 300-350 pounds, was seen near the remains of a bison carcass in Pelican Valley, in the central-eastern part of the park.

The first bear sighting of 2022 also occurred on March 7.

Male grizzlies come out of hibernation in early March. Females with cubs emerge in April and early May. When bears emerge from hibernation, they look for food and often feed on elk and bison that died over the winter. Sometimes, bears will react aggressively to encounters with people when feeding on carcasses.

“Spring visitors skiing, snowshoeing, or hiking in Yellowstone National Park are reminded to carry bear spray and be especially alert for bears near carcasses and areas with early spring green-up. These are the first foods sought out by grizzlies after emerging from hibernations,” said Kerry Gunther, the park's bear management biologist.

All of Yellowstone National Park is bear country: from the deepest backcountry to the boardwalks around Old Faithful. The park restricts certain visitor activities in locations where there is a high density of bears, along with elk and bison carcasses. Restrictions will begin in some bear management areas on March 10.

Learn more about how to protect yourself and the bears that people come here to enjoy: go.nps.gov/23006
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3 weeks ago
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I'm in the Southern Sangre de Cristo mountains. It's been a mild winter, very little snow, so I'm betting the Black Bears will be popping out soon.

I would love to see a bear. (From a safe distance for both of us, of course).

Better yet, don't stop being responsible in the wilderness under a false sense of security provided by pop-media ideas that they're in comas underground. Bears experience wakefulness during their supposed hibernation, and especially during periods of warmer weather they will come out for snacks.

Please protect our bear’s from Stupid people!!!!

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PLEASE SHARE WITH YOUR FRIENDS!
UTAH WILDLIFE CONSERVATION EMERGENCY
A couple of days ago we a shared delightful national article about cutting edge studies of cougars in Utah. Today those cougars need your help. HB469 will remove management of mountain lions from the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources and allow them to be HUNTED and TRAPPED year round without limit or regulation. HB469 passed without notice or opportunity for public comment. Wildlife is held in trust for ALL the public, not a few special interest groups. Elected officials also represent more than a few stakeholders and need to seek advice from seasoned researchers and scientists before making decisions about wildlife. Please POLITELY ask Governor Cox at 801-538-1000 to not sign HB469, currently on his desk. or email cs.utah.gov/s/submit
The video below was shared by Denise and the crew of @Utah Mountain Lion Conservation who are working tirelessly to study and protect lions and ensure their place as a keystone species in Utah.
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4 weeks ago
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Congratulations to Denise Peterson, dedicated to mountain lions, and to sharing the results of her hard work.
Thank you Denise!
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Trail Camera Catches Something Conservationists Have Been Dying To See

www.msn.com

Denise M. Peterson had been waiting months for this. Ever since Peterson, founder of the Utah Mountain Lion Conservation, noticed a female and male mountain lion roaming the area together, she'd been ...
1 month ago
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Thanks! I can't wait to get back up to check these cams to see how they're doing!

I saw this on The Dodo this morning. A mom with two kittens!

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