Posted on 07/09/2009 11:06:05 AM PDT by jazusamo
HOLLISTER — A revolt is brewing on the rangelands of San Benito and Monterey counties over state game laws that protect mountain lions. Hunters, ranchers and farmers appear to be fed up with what they see as depredations on deer and livestock by an out-of-control mountain lion population. They are resentful of regulations they say were imposed on them by big-city voters who never saw one of the big cats outside of a television program or a zoo, and distrustful of state Department of Fish and Game enforcement. And they seem to be waging their own guerrilla warfare against the specially protected predators in the Gabilan range.
Wednesday, the San Benito County Fish and Game Advisory Commission held a public forum in Hollister on mountain lions. Officials from neighboring counties, state legislators' aides and mountain lion supporters attended to talk about the issue.
The state paid bounties for mountain lion kills from 1907 to 1963. The lions were classified as a game animal in 1969, and two sport seasons resulted in 118 mountain lion deaths.
The state Legislature imposed a moratorium on hunting the big cats in 1972, which was still in effect when Proposition 117, which prohibited lion hunting and declared them a specially protected species, was passed by voters in 1990.
Since then, the mountain lion population has grown and the deer population has declined, officials said.
Eric Loft, chief of Fish and Game's wildlife branch, said a decline in the deer population began in the 1960s throughout the western states because of habitat loss and other factors. Predators — coyotes and mountain lions — play a part, said senior DFG wildlife biologist Terry Palmisano. Mountain lions make a deer kill once or twice a week, and they will turn to other animals if the deer begin to get scarce.
People may kill mountain lions if they pose an immediate threat to humans, pets or livestock, Palmisano said. Anyone who shoots a mountain lion is required by law to report it to Fish and Game within 24 hours and should be ready to defend his or her action.
"There will be questions," Palmisano said.
Depredation permits, good for 10 days, are issued by DFG to hunt lions that prey on livestock.
San Benito County has asked the state to survey the area's mountain lion population to determine what farmers and ranchers are dealing with, said Supervisor Anthony Botelho.
He said his constituents are seeing evidence of a greatly increased lion presence and worry about being prosecuted if they can't justify shooting a mountain lion on their property to an investigating game warden.
The result, Botelho said, is a tendency for ranchers to use the "three-S" principle: "shoot, shovel and shut up."
The state doesn't have the budget for a mountain lion count, Palmisano said, and if it was done, game officials couldn't do much.
"We can't have a hunting season," she said. "We don't really manage mountain lions. We try to manage people, to help make them aware of the lions."
Without reports, Loft said, Fish and Game can't get an accurate assessment of the lion problem.
"People don't report them because they're threatened with jail," said San Benito County rancher Nenette Corotto.
Jim Dunbar, executive director of the Mountain Lion Foundation, said that based on DFG statistics, there is no mountain lion problem. If landowners are breaking the law by shooting cougars and not reporting them, there can be no statistics that would show a problem.
The deer population decline, he said, is due to habitat loss, development and land management practices. The lions, Dunbar said, are "a self-regulating species" whose reproductive pattern keeps their numbers low. They are territorial, and the young cubs, once weaned, are driven out to find their own hunting ranges.
Livestock owners should put their animals in lion-proof enclosures to protect them, he said.
San Benito County resident Roger Miller said younger lions that are driven off "will go where they don't belong," into towns, ranches and farms.
Jerry Hunter, who sells hunting and fishing licenses in San Benito County, said he has seen a rising level of hunters frustrated with the DFG.
The county seems to have become a training ground for rookie game wardens, he said, who leave quickly for other areas.
Game Warden Chris Stoots said wardens don't stay in the county because of the cost of living and because of the difficult relationship with uncooperative residents "with closed gates and closed minds" who feel entitled to break the game laws.
"It's not a good county to work in," he said.
Trapper Paul Benoit said ranches that once teemed with deer have seen those herds disappear, along with gray fox, skunks and other animals, in a county where wide tracts of land have remained open.
"People in San Francisco and Los Angeles think the lions are cute and cuddly," he said. "They don't know the damage they do."
Jim Dunbar is an animal rights idiot. CA Fish & Game has not done a cougar count in 20 years so they have no statistics. These people living in that area are having a problem and have for quite some time.
>>Anyone who shoots a mountain lion is required by law to report it to Fish and Game within 24 hours and should be ready to defend his or her action.
>>”There will be questions,” Palmisano said.
I would expect that anyone who shoots a mountain lion would do well to shoot, shovel, and shut up.
How hard is shoot, shovel and shut the hell up?
Some people in California are finally getting fed up with the explosion of cougar numbers and are speaking out.
And as I read further in the article, they are of course doing exactly that.
Good. Real Americans have a healthy disrespect for stupid laws and regulations.
Exactly! That’s brought up in the article.
The sad thing is CA DFG knows they have a problem and won’t do the proper thing to manage the numbers because of the initiative passed 20 years ago and the animal rights nutjobs like this Dunbar.
Funny thing - when people can no longer follow the law and survive, they ignore the law.
SSS is a result of government gone nuts.
Having said that, “habitat loss” is such a load of garbage, I could spit. Deer live just fine on the Capital Beltway around DC.
Your western deer must be real pussy's because east of the Mississippi deer have no problem with habitat loss. The number of deer in the Midwest has exploded over the last 10 years. You can't go a two miles on a highway without seeing a dead deer.
If I'm betting the west has a lot more Cougars than they think they have and that's keeping the deer population down.
“Eric Loft, chief of Fish and Game’s wildlife branch, said a decline in the deer population began in the 1960s throughout the western states because of habitat loss ...”
Pure, unaduterated crap.
“...and other factors.”
Uh, yeah. Lions.
Mr. Loft is a drooling idiot.
A rare moment of honesty from one of our Government employed masters...
Sounds like they're doing a good job. The people are well aware of the lions, well aware that there's a problem, and well aware of how to solve it. And, they're taking care of it.
This idiot won't provide a decent solution, and he doesn't like the one that farmers have come up with, that's all.
“Anyone who shoots a mountain lion is required by law to report it to Fish and Game within 24 hours and should be ready to defend his or her action.”
Lion? What lion?
Is this moron for real? Are the livestock owners going to put a bounty on him? (Which would seem to be the best solution)
“We try to manage people”
At last, some honesty from the statist.
The money quote;
“We can’t have a hunting season,” she said. “We don’t really manage mountain lions. We try to manage people, to help make them aware of the lions.”
Gee, a moonbat who sees the solution as management ie. CONTROL of others. What a shock.
Without trying to defend the stupidity of CA’s mountain lion policy, I can say with unequivocal certainty that habitat loss is the #1 reason for declining mule deer numbers in the west.
Your habitat east of the 100th parallel is nothing like the west. If I could bring you out west and show you mule deer habits and habitat, you’d see why the rapid development of deeded lands in the west is cratering mulie populations.
Whitetails are much better adapted to the breakup of land in developments in the midwest and east - in fact, there are more whitetails in the US now than were extant when Europeans came to this continent. The whitetails are much more adaptable than mulies - and in fact, the whitetail is partly responsible for the decline of mulies in Front Range states like MT, WY, CO.
We do have a lot of lions here in the west, and they do indeed kill a lot of deer. But the shift in land use patterns, coupled with “what land is good for what?” plays a big, big role in declining mulie populations.
“Jim Dunbar, executive director of the Mountain Lion Foundation, said that based on DFG statistics, there is no mountain lion problem. If landowners are breaking the law by shooting cougars and not reporting them, there can be no statistics that would show a problem. “
I guess this idiot’s job is secure.
This Eric Loft is full of BS. Habitat loss in this part of CA is neglible, there are vast tracts of open land that is ideal for both deer and cougar.
One problem with CA DFG is that some animal rights type people have worked for the Dept. long enough to get into supervisory positions and it’s showing.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.