Proceedings of the Seventh Mountain Lion Workshop

is a relatively recent management approach
in Arizona, refinements to implementation
and new opportunities will undoubtedly
develop. For instance, portions of Arizona
have robust mountain lion populations that
sustain large amounts of depredation
removal (Cunningham et al. 1995) and may
be able to provide recreational harvest at a
higher level. These areas might provide
opportunities to manage recreational harvest
with multiple bag limits in the future, and
attempt to transfer depredation take into
recreational harvest.
The Department has recently established
an internal team to review management
approaches for several predator species, to
include mountain lions. This team will be
reviewing social and biological issues and
best management practices, and
recommending possible changes to
Arizona's management. This team will
serve as an umbrella team for several
subteams that will work on the biological
basis for management, gather information on
social acceptance, and conduct public
outreach and education.
DISTRIBUTION AND ABUNDANCE
Mountain lions are distributed
throughout most of Arizona, in varying
densities (Figure 2). This distribution was
reevaluated in 2002 by Department
biologists and wildlife managers, and
although subtle changes have been noted in
the densities of lions, little change to the
distribution was identified. This map is still
undergoing refinement and should be
considered a draft. Additional information
used by the Arizona Game and Fish
Department in managing mountain lion
population trends includes harvest,
depredation reports, and age and gender
from mandatory hunter reports.
Mountain lion population estimates are
based on density estimates developed from
research studies, literature, and professional
experience within Arizona habitats. These
STATUS OF MOUNTAIN LION POPULATIONS IN ARIZONA · Wakeling 3
PROCEEDINGS OF THE SEVENTH MOUNTAIN LION WORKSHOP
Figure 2. Mountain lion distribution and
density estimates (draft) in Arizona
excluding tribal lands, 2002.
density estimates are reevaluated at
infrequent intervals. Prior to 2002, the last
reevaluation was conducted in 1993,
although a few management units were
reevaluated in 1998.
HARVEST INFORMATION
Licensed hunters may pursue mountain
lions in Arizona if they purchase a
nonpermit tag prior to hunting. The annual
bag limit is 1 lion, except for areas where a
multiple bag limit is in place as discussed in
the introduction. Strategic plan objectives
for statewide harvests are based on historical
harvest that removed about 10-15% of the
estimated statewide population. Recently,
harvest combined with depredation removal
has exceeded the strategic plan objective
(Table 1). Phelps (2003) reported data on
harvest prior to 1998. Still, statewide
harvest is probably