Mountain Lion Foundation

Mountain Lions in Nevada

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Local Name: Mountain Lion

Nevada Mountain Lion Habitat and Population Estimates
The state of Nevada encompasses 109,826 miles of land. Of this, the Nevada Department of Wildlife (NDOW) estimates that approximately 50,000 square miles, roughly 45 percent of the state is suitable mountain lion habitat. Using a 1982 Gap Habitat Analysis map to ascertain the amount and location of mountain lion habitat in each of Nevada's 29 Game Management Units (GMUs), MLF researchers estimate that there is closer to 55,891 square miles of suitable mountain lion habitat in the state.

Nevada's mountain lion habitat is distributed throughout all the mountain ranges in the state. According to NDOW, "The mountain lion's habitat ranges from desert, chaparral and badlands to sub-alpine mountain and tropical rain forests. In Nevada, mountain lions are most likely found in areas of pinion pine, juniper, mountain mahogany, ponderosa pine and mountain brush."

NDOW believes that overall, mountain lion population in Nevada is stable. Yet, it also acknowledges that "The increasing human population in Nevada has caused mountain lions to retreat to more isolated and rugged terrain. This human encroachment has also caused more human interactions with these otherwise secretive animals."

NDOW has put forth several estimates on the number of mountain lions residing in the state. Based on modeling that considers past mortality trends and recruitment rates from mark-recapture studies NDOW's 2008 status report estimates somewhere between 2,500 and 3,500 mountain lions statewide. This number is considerably lower than their 2003 estimate of 3,000 to 4,000 mountain lions, and is disputed further by a 2004 article in the Reno Gazette Journal which cites a NDOW population estimate of only 1,500 mountain lions.

History of Mountain Lion Management in Nevada
Unlike most western states, Nevada never placed a statewide bounty on mountain lions. They were considered as unprotected predators until their classification as game animals in 1965.

In 1972, a ten-year mountain lion study was initiated to establish mountain lion population estimates, discern basic habitat requirements, and establish a sport hunting management program. Since its publication in 1983, the findings of this study have formed the foundation for most mountain lion management practices in Nevada.

Since the later half of the 1990s, Nevada's mountain lion hunting strategies have become increasingly more liberalized to simplify and increase hunter involvement. To achieve this goal:

•  bag limits continue to be increased,
•  hunting fees have been reduced,
•  the hunting season has expanded to year-round (March-February), and
•  mountain lion hunting tags and hunting zone requests are now available on-line.

In March 2007, Assemblyman Clayborn submitted AB 259 to the Committee on Natural Resources. If passed this bill would have reclassified mountain lions in Nevada as "unprotected mammal," thereby making it legal for anyone to kill a lion at any time without needing a license. The bill would also have allowed aerial hunting from airplanes or helicopters, and the use of spring guns, set guns or other device for the destruction of a mountain lion. Finally, the bill also called for renaming NDOW the Nevada Department of Fish and Game thereby proudly declaring exactly who the Department really worked for. Fortunately the bill failed. Strangely the primary reasons for its defeat may have been that it would cost too much to change NDOW's name, and because many hunters feared a reduction in available trophy animals.

Nevada still uses the Comprehensive Mountain Lion Management Plan written in 1995. In that plan, the Nevada Department of Wildlife stated that its goals and objectives are to:

•  maintain mountain lion distribution in reasonable densities throughout the state;
• control mountain lions creating a public safety hazard or causing property damage;
•  provide recreational, educational and scientific use opportunities of the mountain lion resource;
•  maintain a balance between mountain lions and their prey; and
•  manage mountain lions as a meta-population.

While the above wildlife management plan sounds balanced and fair, it is riddled with qualifiers and ultimately depends upon how one defines "reasonable densities," "control," "recreational opportunities," and "maintain a balance" to properly evaluate its merits. As the old saying goes, the proof is in the pudding, and in Nevada's case, the proof is in the lack of a current mountain lion management plan beyond annual hunting quotas, and predator culling goals for specific game management areas. A review of available documents found:

•  There is no mention of mountain lions in the NDOW Comprehensive Strategic Plan 2004-2009 (the all-encompassing document that addresses how NDOW will protect the natural resources under their jurisdiction).
•  Mountain lions are barely acknowledged as even existing within the 629 pages of the 2006 Nevada Wildlife Action Plan.
  
• The 1995 Cougar Management Plan was still referred to as the State's standard plan in a 2008 Mountain Lion Status Report
• The only "plans" which reference mountain lions at all are the Nevada Predation Management Plan, and the NDOW's Regional Hunting Quota List.

At this time, Nevada's Mountain Lion Management Plan appears to be maintaining a hypothetical population base (of questionable number) by trying to annually kill off approximately 15 percent of the high end of the estimated population.

Hunting Mountain Lion's in Nevada
Nevada's Mountain Lion Hunting Season runs from March 1, through February 28. Nevada's 29 Game Management Units (GMUs) are combined into three hunting regions. Hunting quotas are established for each of these regions rather than for individual GMUs. When the harvest objective has been met for a given hunting region, the lion season is closed in that region. With this policy it is possible that some Game Management Units might experience greater lion mortality than others within the same hunting region.

Nevada's 2010-11 Mountain Lion Hunting Season Quotas

•  Western Region 103 mountain lions
•  Eastern Region 139 mountain lions
•  Southern Region 60 mountain lions
•  Total Allowed Kills 302 mountain lions

Politics and Mountain Lion/Predator Control Directives in Nevada
Decisions regarding mountain lions in Nevada appear to be increasingly dictated by politics rather than sound science. Greg Tanner, a wildlife biologist with the Nevada Department of Wildlife, is quoted in an April 12, 2004 High Country News article as saying "Game commissions make decisions based on what they hear from their sportsmen constituents."

This opinion of political manipulation of the Nevada Board of Wildlife Commission (NBWC) by hunting groups was reinforced on December 5, 2009 when the NBWC approved three projects sought by private sportsmen groups to kill the predators of mule deer and sage grouse--specifically mountain lions. This approval was made despite arguments against the plan presented by the Director of the Nevada Department of Wildlife.

In a March 9, 2010 Reno Gazette Journal news article, Tony Wasley, a NDOW mule deer specialist, stated that controlling predators won't stop the disappearance of the sagebrush-covered terrain that deer depend on in Nevada and much of the West. "We're talking about a landscape-scale phenomenon here," Wasley said. "The [Nevada deer] population is limited by habitat. Where there is insufficient habitat, all the predator control in the world won't result in any benefit." Unfortunately his argument, and those of fellow biologists, has not debunked the popular opinion of many hunters (that an exploding mountain lion population is eradicating Nevada's deer herd) or those of their sympathetic lawmakers.

In March 2010, the implementation of the special mountain lion removal plan was put on hold when, citing lack of full support from Nevada officials, the U.S. Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services (WS) refused to carry it out. As a result of this refusal, the Nevada Board of Wildlife Commission has now created the Mule Deer Restoration Sub-Committee with the stated purpose of helping to restore mule deer numbers in the state. There is some question as to the impartiality of this committee. At its second public meeting on April 15, 2010, committee liaisons with the Nevada Cattlemen's Association, Nevada Farm Bureau, and Wildlife Services (the agency which carries out the state's predator control directives) were announced.

Human Caused Mountain Lion Mortalities in Nevada
Since 1917 (the first year records are available) an estimated 7,219 mountain lions have been killed by humans in Nevada, with 76 percent of these deaths occurring after 1965 when mountain lions were classified as game animals. This figure does not include:

•  lion deaths from road accidents,
•  secondary poisoning,
•  kittens or injured adults euthanized by NDOW,
•  death by unknown causes,
•  poaching,
•  and of course the renown "shoot-shovel-and-shut up" practice espoused by many ranchers.

Nevada's Killing Fields
Based on a lion-mortality density model developed by the Mountain Lion Foundation, Nevada averages 0.35 mountain lions reported killed by humans for every 100 square miles of habitat. The eleven western state average is 0.65. Using MLF's mortality ranking system, Nevada ranks 10th (11th is least deadly) amongst the 11 states studied by MLF in reported human-caused mountain lion mortalities.

In 2003, Nevada provided a gender breakdown of its mountain lion harvests for the years 1998 through 2001. During this 4-year period 41 percent (282) of the total human-caused mountain lion mortalities were female cougars.

According to MLF's 11 western state study of human-caused mountain lion mortalities (1992-2001) the Nevada Game Management Units (GMUs) most responsible for mountain lion deaths were numbers 12, 11, 5, 6, and 2. From 1997 to 2001, these GMUs accounted for 285 human-caused mountain lion mortalities. During this time period, these GMUs were responsible for 29 percent of human-caused mountain lion mortalities while encompassing only 11 percent of Nevada's mountain lion habitat. GMU-12 was ranked as Nevada's number one killing field during the study period with an average mortality density rating of 1.5.

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