article on prop 127

[SouthernJen]

https://www.cpr.org/2024/10/03/vg-2024-p...explained/

[sbertram]

Wildlife is best managed by CPW biologists, not the ballot box.

[sbg]

Thank you Southern Jen for the informative article.

[lanochow]

Some notes on 127 that I see a lot of confusion around: 

• Trophy hunting is already illegal in Colorado. Please research this. There seems to be confusion on what trophy hunting means. Trophy hunting means killing an animal and not taking the meat - just taking the "trophy" for a mount... 
  
• Mountain Lions will still be killed if the ban passes but they will be killed by tax funded private entities who will discard of the animal instead of hunters who pay for the tags and use the harvested resources.
  
• Our Elk and deer populations are declining with their number one predator being mountain lions.
  
• Mountain lion populations are growing
  
• CPW, the biologists we pay to manage wildlife conservation has stated that regulated hunting is necessary to maintain stable populations of all species.
  
• This proposition 127 comes from an anti-hunting group that would seek to have mountain lions killed by privitization who primarily kill and dump the carcasses. 
  

By voting no on 127 you help protect all CO species by giving biologists all necessary tools for conservation.

[Denise Luttrell]

Here's an article that could have bearing on the issue since wolves have been introduced, and are moving naturally, into the state. Also, the mission of the wildlife biologists employed by the state is to balance science with the needs/desires of the human community. By putting it to a vote, the human community is having its say. Interesting that almost none of the arguments about who would be affected by the measure mention the cats themselves.
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-n...180976775/

[sbertram]

If voters ban hunting you have taken the biologist we employ out of the equation, the biologist are hired to use science in the decisions that they make, not emotion.

The cats were not asked their opinion because it is not Disney out there in the wild.


Two adult men attacked, one fatally in CA 

https://apnews.com/article/california-mo...94d2d3642d
 

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[Rose H-H]

Denise, thank you very much for the link to the Smithsonian article!  I found it fascinating how detrimental wolves are to mountain lions when their territories overlap. 
CPW certainly has huge tasks studying and working with the matrix of multiple species interacting!

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Here's another article by a retired CPW wildlife biologist that I found good fodder for thoughtful voting:

https://coloradonewsline.com/2024/09/30/...-colorado/

[sbertram]

Here is a nice video of a mountain lion attack in Larimer county.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xqZKbnuB6Ss

Attack on a pet dog

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HwHYA6Gwb1c

An attack INSIDE a home in CA.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VD7_1_2YStQ


Cute video of a mountain lion so proud of its kill

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b56w9eycYCY


Lions should NEVER loose the fear of man.

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[John Hardman]

Keeping things in perspective ~

https://mountainlion.org/2024/04/06/risk...per%20year.

[sbertram]

15 dogs in 30 days in Nederland, that should give any mountain dwelling pet owner a bit of perspective, if you value your pets that is.  Maybe some of you think that they are just snuggly little kitties like Disney portrays them to be, they are not.

https://coloradosun.com/2023/01/01/neder...-killings/

The Mountain Lion population is healthy and growing, they are currently being hunted in a sustainable way, managed by trained biologists, that should not change because they are cute.

[lanochow]

The threat to humans is not the issue here...  mountain lions are decimating our population of elk and deer and other non predatory species.

Hunting mountain lions allows proper control of this growing mountain lion population so we are not putting even more pressure on already declining deer and elk populations. Hunters also are legally required in colorado to use the resources from any animal they kill. The meat and the carcass all gets used. 

By voting no on 127 you help protect all CO species

If you vote yes on 127 then mountain lions will continue to grow in population and the deer and elk will have even more predators. Also the smaller amount of mountain lions that will get killed by a private organization - the carcasses will be dumped and disposed of with no use or respect for what the animal provided. 

Also Reminder those hunting mountain lions are NOT trophy hunting as many are trying to spin the proposition.  Trophy hunting has been illegal in colorado since the 1970s.  Trophy hunting means killing an animal and not taking the meat - just taking the "trophy" for a mount... This is illegal in colorado.

[sbertram]

I think there are multiple issues related to taking away a management tool the CPW has, big game populations are certainly a concern, the well being of people and pets when predators loose the fear of man is also an issue in my opinion. I would like to see our biologists do what they are paid to do, manage our wildlife, all of it. I think the fact that the Mountain Lion population is growing and quite healthy speaks to the good job they are doing at the CPW under the status quo.