Mountain Lions: the Facts Have Changed

The Mercury News runs a front-page story about the over-estimation of the mountain lion population "by several thousands": [bold added]

The total number of mountain lions is estimated to be between 3,200 and 4,500, which is thousands fewer than previously thought. The count was conducted by state and university scientists who used GPS collar data and genetic information from scat samples to model population densities across the Sierra Nevada Mountains, the Mojave Desert and Southern California’s patchwork of weedy, fire-stripped wilderness...

The California Department of Fish and Wildlife had for decades estimated that the state’s mountain lion population was roughly 6,000 — even despite relentless vehicle strikes, wildfires and encroachment by land-hungry humans throughout their range.

“That old figure was just a back-of-the-envelope calculation without much data to support it,” Dellinger said. “The new, more accurate information we collected will be used to conserve and manage mountain lions more appropriately.”

The updated population numbers increase the likelihood that cougars could be classified as "threatened":

If the state Fish and Game Commission agrees, the state Department of Transportation would not be allowed to build or expand highways in core mountain lion habitat without implementing adequate measures to ensure linkages and safe passage over them.

In addition, large-scale residential and commercial development could be prohibited or limited in mountain lion habitats within a region covering roughly a third of the state.

Two years ago the tony town of Woodside attempted to thwart a State law that mandated denser housing by its claim that such construction would endanger mountain lions. Woodside backed down when threatened by State officials.

If environmentalists are serious about the importance of species protection, this new mountain-lion population report should cause them to back Woodside when and if it tries to halt housing construction again.

It will be very interesting if the State ultimately values housing construction over animals, because that will show that the Endangered Species Act is not absolute, which opponents will exploit not only in California but throughout the nation.