Proceedings of the Ninth Mountain Lion Workshop - Carnivore ...

programs that apply source-sink concepts. However, concepts would have to
be applied differently by each state as each state has different assets. For
instance Idaho has a very large wilderness, a defacto source population and
other states do not have similar conditions.
Theme: (audience generated). Since wolves have become established in several
western states, are state agencies giving enough attention to the management, and
population monitoring needs for cougars?
• Concern: High levels of wolf management is distracting from cougar
management with most state agencies having these resources shared within
one carnivore program.
• Responses: Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming are all facing this man-power
dilemma with both wolves and cougars now having a widespread geographic
distribution. Regional staff will have to assume more problem responsibility,
and situation prioritization will need to be applied, which favors human safety
and protection of personal property (such as livestock and personal pets)
where these may be at risk.
Theme: Recent evidence supports the range expansion of cougars into various midwestern
states.
• Concern: Is there a mechanism for tracking this range expansion, and means
to identify where the source populations are located? Is this expansion
socially acceptable?
• Responses: Two methods to track this expansion are: validating sightings; (a
current mission of the group called “The Cougar Network”) and through
scientific data collection, with a nation-wide genetic bank that is managed by
a reputable entity such as the Wild Felid Association. Social acceptance will
involve a major educational effort that will need to come from state agencies
(not there yet) and from reputable NGO’s.
Theme: Given that harvest levels on cougars are on a downward trend across the
west, how can such a downward trend be explained in light of widely varying hunting
season frameworks and range expansion?
• Concern: How will a declining population trend in most western states
influence future management and harvest opportunity?
• Responses: It was widely felt that declining prey populations (deer, elk) were
contributing to cougar population declines in the West. Such declines on a
local scale may cause cougars to explore new areas, lending to range
expansion. Declining cougar populations may also be due to more liberal
harvest opportunities in most western states. It was expressed that the lower
numbers of cougars were might reduce cougar-human conflicts, a potentially
positive result on the urban fringe. Cougar population trends however were
similar in many states despite variation in harvest regimes from high to no
harvest. Population estimates and harvest reflected peaks during the mid to
late 1990’s followed by a decline until recent years where many states show a
leveling off in the population. These trends ranged from Idaho where harvest
seasons were made more lenient during the last decade, to California where
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