-----Original Message-----
From: Helen McGinnis [mailto:HelenMcGinnis@frontiernet.net]
Sent: Tuesday, October 05, 2010 4:21 AM
To: Helen McGinnis
Subject: ALERT!!!--Last opportunity to comment on Black Hills cougar management plan is Wed Oct 6th
If you have not submitted comments on the proposed mountain lion hunting season, please take a few minutes to do so in the next couple of days. You are probably already aware that a high percentage of the occasional cougars documented in the Midwest originated in the Black Hills. If the Black Hills population is decimated, the chances of natural recovery of cougars further east will be significantly reduced.
You have up to 5:00 pm Mountain Time (7:00 pm Eastern Time) on Wednesday to email your comments to wildinfo@state.sd.us
110 comments were submitted in July 2010 on the proposal to reduce the cougar population of the Black Hills. Fifteen respondents approved of the plan, or more typically, suggested even more cougars should be killed or that they be treated as varmints, with no protection at all. Most of these people appear to be deer and elk hunters.
The other 90 respondents, from all over the US, were opposed to the plan, citing flawed data analysis and their concern that the portion of the Black Hills in Wyoming is to be designated a cougar population sink, meaning that the number of cougars to be killed will exceed their ability to replace themselves. Several knowledgeable people independently analyzed the Department of Game, Fish & Parks (DGFP's) data analysis and found it flawed. In response, the DGFP merely states that all these people are wrong. Go here for an interesting read and ideas for your own comments -
Expressing their unhappiness with the proposed plan, some out-of-staters are saying they will no longer spend their tourist dollars in South Dakota if it is approved.
In the press release below, the DGFP does not state their intention to reduce the Black Hills cougar population, only to increase the number of cougar hunting licenses to be issued. Could it be that they are embarassed by the outcry over their skewed data analysis and the fact that their plan lacks a peer review? Maybe YOUR comment will affect their decision--just maybe. At the very least, the public record will demonstrate that this isn't simply a state issue, that DGFP is acting on flawed if not deliberately skewed data, and against the recommendations of both the cat experts who have commented and the Cougar Management Guidelines.
What we can do is remind them that the country will be watching--indeed, that we have anticipated and warned them of the havoc they are about to unleash, that they will have no one but themselves to blame for the orphaned kittens and subadults and the likely spike in cougar-related conflicts as a third of their adult cats are taken out and the population is radically destabilized.
KDLT.com - South Dakota
SD GF & P to Hold Public Hearing
by Associated Press
October 03, 2010
The South Dakota Game, Fish and Parks Commission will hold a public hearing on this winter's proposed
mountain lion hunting season when the panel holds its monthly meeting Thursday in the Black Hills.
The meeting will be held at the Spearfish Canyon Lodge, which is between Spearfish and Lead. The proposed mountain lion season would run from Jan. 1 through March 31. Potential changes from the past season include increased numbers of licenses, a higher license fee and an additional hunting unit in Custer State Park.
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Here is the link to the proposed management plan for 2010-2015 - http://gfp.sd.gov/wildlife/docs/SDmountainLionmanageplan2010-2015.pdf
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