katqanna
Well-known member
I was asked to attend the FWP Region 3 Mountain Lion meeting in Three Forks. They were going to present Kelly Proffits study, as well as discuss Region 3 quotas. So I recorded the meeting as asked and made notes on all the districts proposals, got the APHIS WS removal statistics from 2010-2012 before the meeting.
I went there, having heard the comments about the houndsmen, their loving to kill cats. I prefer to make my own opinions, and have seen some posts by houndsmen here that contradicted that. But there I was in a room full of men, various ages, arguing with the wildlife biologists about the FWP wanting to raise the quotas in certain districts, stating what they see on the ground as well as heard from other hunters. Pretty much, they either wanted the quotas to remain the same or expressed concern that they were too high or that the females should be lowered. There were three biologists that wanted quotas in their areas to remain the same, which hunters confirmed. Two of which I have seen their work with elk and was already impressed with them.
One hunter said he loved cats and this raising of quotas was going to hurt the populations again. Hunters stated they were not seeing the big toms anymore. One houndsman said elk and deer quotas were too liberal in their area, with hunters shooting the sh*t out of them, then turning around blaming predators for the decline. There were no wolves there so the cats got the blame. Another houndsman stated the overrun was greed and driven by ranchers, that FWP needed to be proactive, rather than reactive in quotas.
Now I was told afterward that no one identified themselves as outfitters or (cant remember the slang term used for the young guys that like to shoot everything), that the conversations would have been different if the other groups were there. I have no frame of reference for that.
For my first mountain lion meeting, I have to say I was seriously impressed with the biology, ethical and responsible conservation expressed, not just for this generation. They wanted to make sure healthy populations of cats remained on the landscape for the future. It was a welcome difference from rooms of ranchers wanting to kill everything. Nice change of pace and I have an appreciation now for these conservation houndsmen.
I went there, having heard the comments about the houndsmen, their loving to kill cats. I prefer to make my own opinions, and have seen some posts by houndsmen here that contradicted that. But there I was in a room full of men, various ages, arguing with the wildlife biologists about the FWP wanting to raise the quotas in certain districts, stating what they see on the ground as well as heard from other hunters. Pretty much, they either wanted the quotas to remain the same or expressed concern that they were too high or that the females should be lowered. There were three biologists that wanted quotas in their areas to remain the same, which hunters confirmed. Two of which I have seen their work with elk and was already impressed with them.
One hunter said he loved cats and this raising of quotas was going to hurt the populations again. Hunters stated they were not seeing the big toms anymore. One houndsman said elk and deer quotas were too liberal in their area, with hunters shooting the sh*t out of them, then turning around blaming predators for the decline. There were no wolves there so the cats got the blame. Another houndsman stated the overrun was greed and driven by ranchers, that FWP needed to be proactive, rather than reactive in quotas.
Now I was told afterward that no one identified themselves as outfitters or (cant remember the slang term used for the young guys that like to shoot everything), that the conversations would have been different if the other groups were there. I have no frame of reference for that.
For my first mountain lion meeting, I have to say I was seriously impressed with the biology, ethical and responsible conservation expressed, not just for this generation. They wanted to make sure healthy populations of cats remained on the landscape for the future. It was a welcome difference from rooms of ranchers wanting to kill everything. Nice change of pace and I have an appreciation now for these conservation houndsmen.
