{"id":23050,"date":"2020-05-24T10:28:22","date_gmt":"2020-05-24T16:28:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.skyhinews.com\/?p=64750"},"modified":"2020-05-24T10:28:22","modified_gmt":"2020-05-24T16:28:22","slug":"colorado-wildlife-agencys-past-research-raises-questions-about-mountain-lion-hunting-levels","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/krky\/local-news\/colorado-wildlife-agencys-past-research-raises-questions-about-mountain-lion-hunting-levels\/","title":{"rendered":"Colorado wildlife agency\u2019s past research raises questions about mountain lion hunting levels"},"content":{"rendered":"
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A large female mountain stares down at hunters and the dogs that treed her in the Roaring Fork Valley this winter. CPW released its new mountain lion management plan.<\/strong>
Elizabeth Stewart-Severy\/Aspen Journalism<\/em><\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n

Five years ago, Colorado Parks and Wildlife scientists found that killing mountain lions at the levels agency managers allow across much of the state \u2014 including what\u2019s now being planned for the next decade on the Western Slope \u2014 will lead to declining numbers, contrary to the goal of ensuring stability for this species.<\/p>\n

The CPW biologists determined, from research done between 2004 and 2014 for the purpose of guiding agency decision-making, that wildlife managers cannot let hunters kill more than 12% of lions a year without triggering a decline, according to a report summarizing results and preliminary analysis<\/a>.<\/p>\n

But in proposing a hunting rate of up to 15% a year in western Colorado, state wildlife officials appear to be overriding those early findings \u2014 and not discussing why, beyond declaring the data flawed.<\/p>\n

The numbers from the mountain lion study, conducted by CPW scientist Ken Logan, \u201chave since changed and are no longer valid,\u201d agency spokesman Travis Duncan said.<\/p>\n

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