More than 1,400 California mountain lions are now protected by the state’s Endangered Species Act.
On Thursday, the California Fish and Game Commission voted unanimously to list six different pumas in Southern California and the Central Coast as threatened under state law, meaning they could become endangered if no intervention is done.
During the public meeting, Commissioner Erika Zavaleta said it is good that the lions are not facing imminent extinction, explaining, “I believe that we better take steps before we reach that point.”
These lions — which range from the Bay Area to the US-Mexico border — are at high risk of losing the gene flow due to the fragmentation of their ever-shrinking habitat, combined with high risks from traffic collisions, rat poison and disease, according to wildlife officials.
Scientists and conservationists believe that action was needed to give the rare species a chance to survive. Surrounded by highways and housing, cougar families in the Santa Monica and Santa Ana mountains — both listed — have a 16% to 28% chance of extinction in 50 years if they can’t get lions to mate with in other areas, providing genetic diversity.
However, opponents including ranchers and farmers said the protection would make it harder to kill lions that pose a safety risk to people and livestock, and that these predators were already protected under state law.
Several measures expected to help mountain lions are in place or underway, including a luxury wildlife crossing being built over the 101 freeway and legislation requiring cities to consider connectivity in their land use plans. But their impact will take time that lions don’t have.
“Despite these improvements, it will take decades to restore communication between the small, isolated genes” of lions, said Daniel Applebee of the California Department of Fish and Wildlife. Currently, humans are at risk of extinction from breeding, intense wildfires and other factors.
The listing decision comes nearly seven years after the Center for Biological Diversity and the Mountain Lion Foundation, environmental nonprofits, urged the commission to consider listing fifty-two lions.
In 2020, the commission awarded lions protection of temporarily endangered species as “candidates” for listing. In December, the Department of Fish and Wildlife – tasked with advising the commission on policy decisions – recommended giving the lions endangered species status in an area that closely matches what the petitioners requested and includes Santa Cruz, Santa Monica, San Gabriel, San Bernardino and Santa Ana and the Eastern Peninsular Mountains. It leaves out the proposed southeast desert and ranch area in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta.
The protection gives government agencies the legal authority to protect lions, gives wildlife officials the authority to develop a recovery plan and requires proposed developments in lion habitats to be more wildlife-friendly, according to the Center for Biological Diversity. The conservation group said it could lead to more wildlife crossings and stricter restrictions on rat poison.
“You have the power to choose coexistence over extinction,” said Tiffany Yap, the agency’s regional wildlands science director, told commissioners before the vote. “You have the power to choose to protect our amazing wildlife and our environment at a time when federal administrations are attacking our environment and rolling back environmental protections.”
Valerie Termini, the department’s acting director, said the decision was “overdue” at the meeting, while acknowledging that mountain lions divide the animals.
“They evoke strong and diverse opinions” about how they should be treated, he said, “but the segment of the population we’re talking about today is vulnerable to different threats.”
Adding a layer of complexity to the kingdom’s management of its mountain lions is the fact that many lion populations are doing well, including populations along the northwest coast and on both sides of the Sierra Nevada. Those groups were not proposed for inclusion in the list.
California is home to about 4,172 mountain lions, according to wildlife officials.
Strong, conflicting opinions about cats were on full display during the meeting, which drew 57 speakers for public comment.
The National Wildlife Federation, San Diego Humane Society, Citizens for Los Angeles Wildlife, Los Padres Forest Watch and Project Coyote have expressed their support, among others. Supporters praise lions as a key species that promotes biodiversity and express the love they generate – from the late Los Angeles era, the legendary P-22 to the lion that recently passed through San Francisco.
A resident of San Francisco described hearing one of the big cats while camping, saying, “I feel very fortunate to live in a state that cares about the conservation of these animals and has the opportunity today to protect them more.”
Opponents include the California Farm Bureau, California Cattlemen’s Assn., California Deer Assn., California Bowmen Hunters/State Archery Assn. and the California Four Wheel Drive Assn. Critics have said that lions are increasingly feasting on livestock as the game they eat has decreased, while others have expressed concern for the safety of their pets and their loved ones.
“This application will hurt the mountain lion more than anything,” said Vince Fontana, a fourth-generation San Mateo County rancher. The reason the lion is in trouble is because it is “overcrowded, and sadly it has run out of food.”
California lions enjoy some protection before they are listed. In 1990, voters approved Proposition 117, which designated them as “specially protected species” and banned sport hunting. State officials will now have to resolve the conflict between the two laws.
