Applications sought for mountain lion management committee

HELENA – The deadline to submit applications to serve on the Northwest Lion Ecoregional Population Committee has been extended to Sept. 28. The committee will advise the Fish and Wildlife Commission on management of mountain lions in northwest Montana.

The committee will be asked to develop a target that maximizes public satisfaction related to mountain lion hunting opportunity, mountain lion conflict and ungulate population trends. The committee will provide a recommendation on what the mountain lion population should look like five years from now.

In 2019, the Fish and Wildlife Commission adopted the new Mountain Lion Monitoring and Management Strategy. This strategy outlines the scientific basis for conserving, monitoring and managing harvest of mountain lions in Montana. An integral part of implementing this new strategy is the formulation of a committee in each of the three western ecoregions, beginning with the northwest ecoregion. The northwest ecoregion committee will consist of 12 citizens representing a broad spectrum of mountain lion stakeholders who reside within or close to the ecoregion. The committee will meet two or three times this fall to deliberate and make recommendations that Fish, Wildlife & Parks can carry forward to the commission.

Those interested in applying for the committee can download an application from FWP’s website, fwp.mt.gov. Applications must be submitted by 5 p.m. on Sept. 28.