Colorado
From 1881 to 1965, Colorado classified mountain lions as predators and unrestricted killing was encouraged and at times even stimulated with a $50 bounty. In 1965, mountain lions were reclassified as a Big Game species with managed protection. Cougar hunting is now managed by the Colorado Division of Parks and Wildlife (CPW) using a harvest limit quota system without female sub-quotas.
According to Colorado Parks & Wildlife’s website:
“Hunter harvest of mountain lion has increased from 81 in 1980, reaching its highest level in 2001 of 439. Harvest limits gradually increased from 1980 before leveling at about 790 from 1999 through 2004. From about 1992 through 2001 the proportion of females in hunting mortality appeared to be growing from about 40% to about 45%. In the late 1990’s to early 2000’s, hunters in some areas began reporting that the number of older males in hunter harvest seemed to be declining. Growing attention by hunters and species advocate groups, along with concern from CPW manager led to more detailed analysis and development of new DAU plans statewide in 2004.”
While extensive research is being conducted on cougar populations in Colorado, wildlife managers still do not have an estimate for the cat population in the state.
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Senators
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Mark Udall (D)
730 Hart Senate Office Building Washington DC 20510
(202) 224-5941
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Michael Bennet (D)
458 Russell Senate Office Building Washington DC 20510
(202) 224-5852
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Congressmen
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Cory Gardner (R)
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Diana DeGette (D)
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Doug Lamborn (R)
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Ed Perlmutter (D)
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Jared Polis (D)
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Colorado is divided into 19 regional Data Analysis Units (DAU) which are further broken into 166 Hunt Units (HU). Hunters may take one lion of either sex each season and the harvest quota for each HU is established each fall from data based on five-year running averages. Lion populations within DAU’s are managed either for stability, to increase, or to decrease. Stability is defined by management goals for DAU’s.
CPW officials ask hunters to voluntarily refrain from killing females in HU’s managed to maintain stable population levels. Where five-year trends are within desired limits the CPW makes no special requests for hunters regarding the take of female lions. In areas where recent harvests have exceeded management thresholds CPW emphasis the need for hunters to voluntarily reduce female harvest or risk having future quotas reduced.
Those hunting mountain lions in Colorado must successfully complete CPW’s Mountain Lion Education and Identification Course (Colorado is one of six states – in addition to Montana, New Mexico, South Dakota, Utah, and Wyoming – that provides cougar-specific hunter education in order to help hunters better identify the age/sex of a cougar and reduce incidental/illegal mortality). Hunters may use up to 8 dogs while pursuing cougars during the hunting season that generally runs from mid-November to the end of March.
On average, hunters kill between 45 and 55 percent of the season’s quota. During the 2013-2014 season, hunters killed 425 cats, 157 of which were females.
The 2014-2015 season runs from November 17 – March 31. In some units, there is an April season which spans April 1 – April 30.
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Support Grand Teton National Park’s Preferred Alternative for Moose-Wilson
• The Cougar Fund -
Colorado Parks and Wildlife Drops Proposal to Kill More Mountain Lions
• The Cougar FundThe Colorado Division of Parks and Wildlife has withdrawn a controversial proposal that would have raised cougar quotas by nearly 50% in an effort to boost mule deer populations
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Colorado homeowner understands the concept of co-existance.
• The Cougar Fund -
Long-term study reveals robust cougar population on CO’s Front Range
• The Cougar FundEarly results from a long-term study being conducted by Colorado Parks and Wildlife suggest that cougar populations on the Front Range are robust and may be on the high end of density estimates for cougar populations in the West.
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Colorado mountain lion & bobcat poaching case comes to a close
• The Cougar Fund -
Mountain lion sightings in Boulder area
• The Cougar FundWith a recent uptick in sightings in the Boulder, CO area, Colorado Parks and Wildlife is reminding residents to take the standard precautions that come with living in cougar country.
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Colorado authorities successfully haze cougar. Why do states differ when responding?
• The Cougar Fund -
Sick lion put down in Colorado
• The Cougar Fund -
Off-leash dog in Colorado stumbles upon cougar cache
• The Cougar Fund -
Common sense, Colorado style
• The Cougar FundA Colorado newspaper is reminding people that feeding deer can be an extremely dangerous act.
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Great advice! Thank you COLORADO
• The Cougar FundColorado Parks and Wildlife has taken the time to remind us about the risk that feeding wildlife can pose to people and animals. Namely, feeding deer can draw predators into developed areas.
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Just how low can we go?
• The Cougar FundAn examination of Colorado's "worst poaching case" and the decline of recreational hunting.
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Cougar Seen Near Glenwood Springs School
• The Cougar FundA mountain lion passing through Glenwood Springs came into close proximity to an elementary school. Thankfully, Colorado Parks and Wildlife personnel dealt with the situation extremely well, keeping both people and the animal safe, and using the situation as a teaching moment.
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Colorado Man Gets 27 Months for Illegal Cougar Hunting
• The Cougar FundA Colorado outfitter who illegally trapped, shot, and caged wild cougars and bobcats to make his clients' hunts easier has been sentenced.
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Proceedings of the 11th Mountain Lion Workshop
• The Cougar FundProceedings of the 11th Mountain Lion Workshop
Integrating Scientific Findings into Management
Hunter Conference Center, Southern Utah University
Cedar City, Utah
May 12‐15, 2014 -
Integrating Values and Ethics into Wildlife Policy and Management—Lessons from North America
• The Cougar FundFox and Bekoff (2011)
Abstract: Few animals provoke as wide a range of emotions as wolves. Some see wolves as icons of a lost wilderness; others see them as intruders. As the battle continues between wolf proponents and opponents, finding solutions that resolve conflicts while supporting the integrity of nature is challenging. In this essay we argue that we need to make room for wolves and other native carnivores who are re-colonizing areas from which they were extirpated. Strategies that foster coexistence are necessary and wildlife agencies must consider all stakeholders and invest adequate resources to inform the public about how to mitigate conflicts between people/domestic animals, and predators. Values and ethics must be woven into wildlife policy and management and we must be willing to ask difficult ethical questions and learn from past mistakes.
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Long-Distance Dispersal of a Female Cougar in a Basin and Range Landscape
• The Cougar FundStoner et al. (2010)
Abstract: We used Global Positioning System technology to document distance, movement path, vegetation, and elevations used by a dispersing subadult female cougar (Puma concolor) through the fragmented habitat of the Intermountain West, USA. Over the course of 1 year, female number 31 moved 357 linear km, but an actual distance of 1,341 km from the Oquirrh Mountains, Utah to the White River Plateau, Colorado, constituting the farthest dispersal yet documented for a female cougar. This cougar successfully negotiated 4 major rivers and one interstate highway while traversing portions of 3 states. Our data suggest that transient survival, and therefore total distance moved, may be enhanced when dispersal occurs during the snow-free season due to low hunting pressure and greater access to high elevation habitats. Long- distance movements by both sexes will be required for the recolonization of vacant habitats, and thus inter-state management may be warranted where state boundaries do not coincide with effective dispersal barriers.