FWP seeks public input on southwest Montana mountain lion management

Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks is seeking panelists to advise the agency on developing mountain lion population objectives across the southwest ecoregion.

“We’re aiming to get a diverse group of citizen stakeholders to give us insight into how mountain lion populations should be managed,” said Brian Wakeling, the FWP game management bureau chief.

The Southwest Lion Ecoregional Population Objective Panel will consist of 12 members who will review FWP mountain lion population data, share personal experiences and develop a population management recommendation for the FWP Fish and Wildlife Commission, which is responsible for setting hunting and trapping quotas.

In the past, similar mountain lion advisory panels have consisted of hound hunters, landowners, ungulate hunters and producers.

“They know if there’s an area where mountain lions have a disproportionate impact on elk or deer populations, or if there are places where management should be more conservative than the current harvest quotas,” Wakeling said.

“We want representation from anyone who has an interest in mountain lions.”

So far, FWP has received about 15 applications, according to Wakeling. Panelists will be selected in mid-September.

FWP biologists have been collecting data on mountain lion populations in the southwest ecoregion for the last two years through harvest monitoring and DNA sampling.

“We provide that information to the panelists, and they consider it alongside their personal perspectives,” Wakeling said.

Panelists will attend two in-person meetings in Helena from Oct. 19-20 and Jan. 5-6. During these meetings, they will discuss and finalize recommendations to FWP.

“We’re not asking them to ultimately develop a quota; that’s our responsibility,” said Wakeling. “This is a way for us to get feedback that we will share with the Fish and Wildlife Commission when we make our recommendation for quotas in June.”

Once the panel recommendation has been submitted, FWP biologists will develop projected quotas and bring those recommendations back to the panelists for further feedback. The Fish and Wildlife Commission will then consider the recommendation when determining mountain lion hunting quotas next June during its regularly scheduled Helena meeting.

Wakeling likens the panel to a public comment process.

“The commission receives a lot of input from different sources, and its quotas may not mirror the recommendation, but this is an attempt to provide them with an objective dataset and recommendation for what they might want to consider going forward,” Wakeling said.

The application deadline is 5 p.m. on Friday, Aug. 28.