Editor,
Voters in November will again be asked to become biologists and decide if all hunting of mountain lion, bobcat, and lynx should be forever prohibited. If you want the pros at Colorado Parks and Wildlife, many of whom hold advanced degrees in wildlife biology, to manage these cat species, then you should vote no! If you want credible science to guide wildlife management decisions, then you should vote no! If you want wildlife management policies and regulation to be overseen by the Wildlife Commission, a citizen board appointed by the governor and designed to be apolitical and responsive to broad community interests, then you should vote no!
The proponents of this issue (Prop 91) tell you it is about protecting these cats. It is not! They will tell you it will stop hunting them just as trophies. It does not! It will ban all hunting. They will tell you it will stop the inhumane ways of hunting them. It will ban all hunting.
Some facts: Lynx are already protected by the very agency that brought them back. Lynx occupy much higher elevations than where bobcat are hunted and there are regulations to exclude hunting bobcat above certain elevations.
Hunters who kill lions must take care of the meat just like hunters must do with other big game like deer or elk. It is illegal to kill a lion just for a trophy. That word is included in the ballot issue to deceive you or to tug on you for an emotional response. There are many times more lions in Colorado now than before 1965 when they were declared big game animals and regulated hunting was begun. There is no credible science that can show regulated hunting is a threat to lion or bobcat populations.
There are scientifically developed management guidelines that are evaluated every year in order to determine if harvest objectives for lions and bobcats are being achieved. Analysis is conducted by professional wildlife scientists and managers with decades of experience.
I know these things because I was Colorado’s carnivore biologist for the last 17 years of my career and I helped frame the management guidelines that CPW pros have improved greatly upon since I retired. Please vote no on this November ballot issue.
Jerry Apker
Monte Vista
