FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

CALIFORNIA CELEBRATES TWENTY YEARS OF WILDLIFE PROTECTION

Sacramento, California - July 1, 2010 - Senator Fran Pavley (D-Santa Monica) presented Mountain Lion Foundation Board Chairman, Toby Cooper with a Senate resolution commemorating the Foundation's "significant contributions" to the passage and implementation of the California Wildlife Protection Act of 1990 (Proposition 117).

The resolution recognizes the accomplishments achieved through the implementation of Proposition 117, a landmark initiative passed by California voters. The initiative was the first to qualify for the statewide ballot strictly through the efforts of unpaid volunteers, and provided a model for the following two decades of citizen-sponsored environmental conservation initiatives in the United States.

Proposition 117 designated mountain lions in California as a "specially protected mammal," thereby making lion hunting illegal in California. Mountain lions, also known as cougars or pumas, are a keystone species competing for territories undisturbed by human influences, and require large tracts of land and dispersal corridors in order to survive in viable populations. One lasting legacy of the act is the creation of California's Habitat Conservation Fund which supports land acquisition for the protection of mountain lions as well as deer, oak woodlands and rare, endangered, or threatened plants and animals.

"In my Senate District," said Senator Pavley, "the Habitat Conservation Fund has helped acquire land and protect habitat and native species in areas including Topanga Canyon, Franklin Canyon Park, and Malibu Creek State Park just to name a few."

"I commend the Mountain Lion Foundation and its numerous public partners for the significant contributions they have made to the implementation of Proposition 117. For 20 years now Proposition 117 has successfully protected California's wildlife and the habitat the state's wildlife needs to survive."

Since 1990, the Habitat Conservation Fund has protected more than 2.2 million acres in California, including more than 300,000 acres of mountain lion habitat, 337,000 acres for other wildlife species, 267,000 acres of wetlands, more than 1,000,000 acres of fisheries and riparian habitat, and nearly 145,000 acres of hiking trails, corridors, and interpretative programs at state and local parks.

"As a result of the successful implementation of Proposition 117," the resolution concludes, "California now has the unique status as the state with the largest human population coexisting with the largest number of mountain lions."

For more information on Proposition 117, the California Wildlife Protection Act of 1990, or the Habitat Conservation Fund, visit the Proposition 117 section on the Mountain Lion Foundation's website. www.mountainlion.org

Contact:

Timothy Dunbar

Executive Director

Mountain Lion Foundation

Post Office Box 1896

Sacramento CA 95812

916-397-9534

tdunbar@mountainlion.org

http://mountainlion.org/

or

Deborah Hoffman

Communications Director

Office of Senator Fran Pavley

State Capitol, Room 4035

Sacramento, CA 95814

916-651-4023

916-539-8687 Cell

http://www.senate.ca.gov/pavley

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Photo Caption: Senator Fran Pavley presents Senate resolution to Mountain Lion Foundation Board Chairman Toby Cooper.

RESOLUTION

By the Honorable Fran Pavley, 23^rd Senatorial District; Relative to Commending the Mountain Lion Foundation

WHEREAS, On June 5, 1990, the voters of California approved Proposition 117, the California Wildlife Protection Act; the two major provisions of Proposition 117 were to prohibit the sport hunting of the California Mountain Lion and to require that California spend no less than $30 million annually from the new Habitat Conservation Fund on wildlife habitat protection and related purposes through 2020; and

WHEREAS, Numerous funding sources have contributed to the success of Proposition 117, including subsequent resource bond acts, the Environmental License Plate Fund, the Tobacco Tax Fund, and others; and

WHEREAS, Only projects proposed by public agencies are eligible to be funded by Proposition 117, and in addition, $30 million is required to be spent annually divided between Northern and Southern California; and

WHEREAS, Special preference is given to land protection projects that allow wildlife populations to move from one area to another through wildlife corridors; and

WHEREAS, Funds from the Habitat Conservation Fund have been contributed to local park districts, the California Wildlife Conservation Board, California State Parks, and several state conservancies, including the Tahoe Conservancy, Coastal Conservancy, and Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy; and

WHEREAS, The Habitat Conservation Fund has protected more than 2.2 million acres with its investments, including more than 300,000 acres of mountain lion habitat, 337,000 acres of additional wildlife habitat, 267,000 acres of wetland habitat, more than one million acres of fisheries and riparian habitat, and nearly 145,000 acres of hiking trails, corridors, and interpretative programs at state and local parks; and

WHEREAS, As a result of the successful implementation of Proposition 117, California now has the unique status as the state with the largest human population coexisting with the largest number of mountain lions; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY SENATOR FRAN PAVLEY, That the Mountain Lion Foundation and its numerous public partners be commended for the significant contributions they have made to the implementation of Proposition 117, an important conservation effort that has been successful in protecting California's wildlife and its habitat.

Member Resolution No. 3077

Dated this 5^th day of June, 2010.

Honorable Fran Pavley

23^rd Senatorial District

Bios:

California State Senator Fran Pavley - Senate District 23

Senator Fran Pavley was born in Los Angeles and grew up in Sherman Oaks. She spent 28 years teaching middle school in California before running for elected office. In 1982 she was elected as the first Mayor of Agoura Hills and served four terms as Mayor and Councilmember (1982-1997).

In order to become a more effective elected official and to better prepare herself to make sound land use decisions, she returned to college and earned a Master's Degree in Environmental Planning. She served on the California Coastal Commission from 1995-2000.

She was elected to the California Assembly in 2000 and served three terms. Her landmark laws, AB 1493 and AB 32 on global warming, have become models for other states and countries. She received the 2006 California League of Conservation Voters "Global Warming Leadership Award" with Vice President Al Gore.

In 2008 Pavley was elected to the California Senate where she represents the approximately 925,000 people in the 23^rd district that encompasses portions of Los Angeles and Ventura Counties. Senator Pavley currently serves as the Chair of the Natural Resources and Water Committee and is a member the following Senate committees: Health, Environmental Quality, and Transportation & Housing.

Senator Pavley lives with her husband Andy in Agoura Hills where they raised two children and four guide dogs.

The 23rd Senate District includes the cities of Agoura Hills, Beverly Hills, Calabasas, Hidden Hills, Malibu, Oxnard, Port Hueneme, Santa Monica, West Hollywood, and Westlake Village, as well as several communities in the City of Los Angeles, including Bel Air, Beverly-Fairfax, Beverly Glen Canyon, Brentwood, Canoga Park, Chatsworth, Encino, Pacific Palisades, Sherman Oaks, Studio City, Tarzana, West Hills, Westwood and Woodland Hills. The district also includes Topanga, Channel Islands and other communities in unincorporated Ventura and Los Angeles counties.

Web site: www.senate.ca.gov/pavley

Mountain Lion Foundation

Founded in 1986, the Mountain Lion Foundation is a national nonprofit conservation and education organization dedicated to increasing understanding of and protection for mountain lions and their habitat.

The Mountain Lion Foundation was instrumental in the passage of the California Wildlife Protection Act of 1990 (Proposition 117). This landmark legislation permanently bans the sport hunting of cougars in California, restricts depredation killing of cougars, and sets aside $30 million of State funds annually until 2020 for the acquisition of critical habitat for mountain lions, deer, endangered species, riparian and wetland habitats, and landscape linkages

The Mountain Lion Foundation opposes the sport hunting of mountain lions on the grounds that it is biologically and morally unjustified. Sport hunting of mountain lions is neither a legitimate wildlife management technique nor a morally justified recreational activity.

The Mountain Lion Foundation believes the a critical threat facing cougars, and other wildlife is loss of habitat, and that habitat acquisition, enhancement, restoration, and protection must be priorities in any cougar management program

The Mountain Lion Foundation believes there is a critical need for expanded research of the cougars biology, ecology, and behavior. As a predator that sits high in the food chain and has a wide distribution, the cougar is a key indicator of the environmental health of the variety of habitats in which it lives. Increased knowledge of the cougar can also benefit the other wildlife and plants in its habitat.

The Mountain Lion Foundation is opposed to general depredation programs that arbitrarily destroy cougars as pests, and believes prevention of depredation through better animal husbandry practices is the best approach. Specific depredation can be effectively addressed through non-lethal means.

The Mountain Lion Foundation believes that while the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service does not recognize any western subspecies of Puma concolor as endangered or threatened, the status of the species as a whole is very much in question. While some populations seem healthy, three subspecies are listed as endangered, two other subspecies are candidates for listing, two cougar populations in southern California are on the edge of extirpation (becoming extinct in a localized area), and the true status of mountain lions in Mexico, Central and South America is unknown.

The Mountain Lion Foundation conducts active conservation programs to protect mountain lions, acquire and protect wildlife habitat, prevent poaching, rebuild government wildlife agencies to reflect broader environmental concerns, introduce extirpated wildlife to suitable habitat and preserve our nation's rich wildlife heritage.

Website: www.mountainlion.org

Supporting documents:

Picture (2455x2243)		Click on the link or picture to the left for a high resolution version of the photograph.
Resolution (300 DPI) Resolution (600 DPI)		Click on the link to the left for an Adobe PDF copy of the Senate Resolution.