Mountain Lion Alert
July 2022 Alert
Nebraska lion Alert June 2022
ND Mt Lion Alert 2022
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In Sept 2021, the SDGFP Commission passed both proposed rules on mountain lions with no changes from proposals. Future action to protect mountain lions will be to contact federal and state land management agencies and ask them to prohibit hound hunting of mountain lions on their properties.
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UPDATE – RESULTS OF THE 2021 SEPTEMBER COMMISSION MEETING
Update, in Sept 2021, the SDGFP Commission passed both proposed rules on mountain lions with no changes from proposals. The Commission passed the rule on spring turkey with no changes from proposal. The only rule to which there was a change, was on blow guns used for fishing; they decided not to allow blow guns for fishing. (There is another petition for rule making on blow guns for consideration 5/4/23)Future action to protect mountain lions will be to contact federal and state land management agencies and ask them to prohibit hound hunting of mountain lions on their properties. Please watch for updates on that future campaign
SD MOUNTAIN LION ALERT SD Fall 2021 – OLD (you can see our objections to 2021 season)
Wednesday September 1st (afternoon) 2021c- Thursday September 2nd (morning) was a past SD Game, Fish & Parks Commission Meeting in Rapid City at Outdoor Campus West with virtual & teleconference options
As the proposed rule was adopted, you need to go to SD Administrative Rules list for mountain lions to see the rule as amended in 2021: https://sdlegislature.gov/Rules/Administrative/29319
2021 Alert On Mountain Lion Seasons Rule Changes (these rules were adopted)
Here is a link to the letter that Prairie Hills Audubon Society submitted to SD GFP:
https://www.scribd.com/document/522625630/Mountain-Lion-Comment-LetterF?secret_password=EUwQZb1IK9yVyf3B5FY5
If you go to these two links you can see what other individuals and NGOs – such as HSUS, MLF, Cougar Fund, SD-FACT wrote. The long formal letters are at the end of the PDF files, the shorter letters at the beginning. :
In 2021, we suggested folks oppose both proposed rules changes for mountain lion hunting. SD Mt. lion hunting is divided into the Black Hills Fire Protection District and every where else (Prairie unit). In the Prairie Unit there is 365 day hunting with no harvest limit and hound hunting is allowed on private land (with land owner/lessor permission) and moving from private land to BLM and State School Lands. Hound hunting is allowed in Custer State Park in two week time segments alternating with two weeks of “boot hunting” (boot = no hounds used). The first two week session is given to hound hunting and thus for many years the boot hunters are out-competed and have not gotten any lions.
The hunting season on the Black Hills Unit is too aggressive and will result in decreasing populations, perhaps dropping below the population below the population goals that SDGFP wants. We suggest at least lowering the female lion harvest limit in the Black Hills unit.
We suggest people object to hound hunting of lions, which occurs on Custer State Park (a sub-set of Black Hills unit) and in the Prairie unit. You can object due to 1. animal cruelty to both dogs and lions, 2. not fair chase, 3. provides huge advantage of success for hound hunters vs boot hunters 4. creates trespass risk, 5. disturbs non-target wildlife, livestock and other human users. However they are making a specific change to increase hound hunting..by increasing the area of public land in the Prairie Unit where hound hunters can travel from private land to hunt on public land, to include all of public lands unless public land manager specifically objects. Previously public land hound hunting in the Prairie unit was limited to expanding onto BLM and State School lands. . You can object specifically to that proposed increase in hound hunting area on the Prairie Unit.
We suggest allowing the boot hunters the first two week session in Custer State Park, for sake of boot hunters, lions & dogs.
Written comments were to be submitted at https://gfp.sd.gov/forms/positions/ or at https://rules.sd.gov/Comments.aspx?Id=669
The rule change to allow hound hunting on the prairie unit on public land unless the land management agency specifically objects passed the Commission. We thus need to contact public land managers and ask them to object to hound hunting of lions on their property.
UPDATE ON LIONS – SD Legislature has HB 1296 – would treat cougars (which by statute are a big game species in SD ) as if they were a “predator/varmint in the prairie unit and allow hunting without a license 365 days of a year. This would take away from the GFP Commission the option to reduce the days in the hunting season for the prairie. Cougar advocates wanting to reduce prairie unit hunting from year round would have to go lobby the legislature. Folks would not pay the license fee, which is $28 dollars . This bill was killed in committee (dead).
Mountain lion hunting season was among the rule proposals