Proceedings of the Seventh Mountain Lion Workshop

WYOMING MOUNTAIN LION STATUS REPORT
SCOTT A. BECKER, Trophy Game Section, Wyoming Game and Fish Department, 260 Buena
Vista, Lander, WY 82520, USA, email: Scott.Becker@wgf.state.wy.us
DANIEL D. BJORNLIE, Trophy Game Biologist, Wyoming Game and Fish Department, 260
Buena Vista, Lander, WY 82520, USA, email: Dan.Bjornlie@wgf.state.wy.us
DAVID S. MOODY, Trophy Game Section Coordinator, Wyoming Game and Fish Department,
260 Buena Vista, Lander, WY 82520, USA, email: Dave.Moody@wgf.state.wy.us
INTRODUCTION
Management of mountain lions (Puma
concolor) has changed markedly since the
nineteenth century. In 1882, the Wyoming
Territorial government enacted legislation
placing a bounty on mountain lions and
other predators. This allowed for lion
hunting throughout the year and no bag
limits were enforced. In 1973, the mountain
lion was reclassified as a trophy game
animal, which made the Wyoming Game
and Fish Department (WGFD) fiscally liable
for confirmed livestock losses. The
following year, the first hunting season was
established that included the entire state as a
single hunt area, a bag limit of 1 lion per
year was enacted, kittens and females with
kittens at side were protected, and hunters
were required to present skulls and pelts of
harvested lions to the nearest WGFD
District Office or local game warden.
In 1997, the WGFD prepared a draft
management plan for mountain lions, but the
plan has yet to be finalized. However, six
main objectives outlined in the draft
management plan continue to guide lion
management objectives for the state of
Wyoming, they are: 1) maintain mountain
lion populations within suitable habitat
throughout Wyoming; 2) provide mountain
lion-related recreational opportunities; 3)
minimize female lion harvest in areas where
population stability or increase is desirable;
4) minimize mountain lion depredation and
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Proceedings of the Seventh Mountain Lion Workshop
lion/human interactions; 5) tailor
management objectives to conditions present
within each Mountain Lion Management
Unit (MLMU) where possible; and 6)
implement more specific, quantifiable
objectives within each MLMU as
information on the state’s lion population
allows. Using these objectives as
guidelines, the WGFD attempts to balance
recreational demand and harvest with the
biological needs of lion populations
throughout the state.
DISTRIBUTION AND ABUNDANCE
Mountain lions are distributed
throughout nearly all habitats in Wyoming
although densities are not uniform. Lion
densities are thought to be highest in the
Bighorn, Owl Creek, and Laramie mountain
ranges (Wyoming Game and Fish
Department 1997), while some of the lowest
densities may be found in the grasslands of
northeastern Wyoming. In the Bighorn
Mountains, Logan and Irwin (1985) found
that mixed conifer and curl leaf mountain
mahogany habitats were used most in
relation to availability, whereas sagebrush
grass habitat types were generally avoided.
In the Snowy Range Mountains of
southeastern Wyoming, lions were found at
lower elevations during the winter and
concentrated their use near the timber/prairie
interface (Chuck Anderson, personal
communication).