It would be easy to rail against all the “emotional response” that support Proposition 127, yet I doubt this would influence anybody to vote against it. I would rather address the fact that this proposition doesn’t work with managing mountain lion populations. Lynx are protected and will always be protected (Endangered Species Act 1973). Bobcats cannot be caught with leg hold traps or snares or instant kill traps; this violates the Colorado state statute regarding trapping.
Should this proposition pass, it will inhibit Colorado Parks and Wildlife from having an efficient and cost-effective way of managing mountain lion and bobcat populations. We has residents of Colorado have wildlife biologists who manage all of the species this ill-conceived proposition is trying to curtail. This proposition fails to provide a workable solution on how to mange the populations of mountain lions and bobcats.
In our state, we have already seen the failure of taking away spring bear hunting as an effective way to manage the bear population. This has resulted in more human/bear interactions with the bear having to be euthanized. California has taken away the ability to mange mountain lions, which has resulted in double the lion/human interactions in the last nine years vs. the previous 20 years.
Please, don’t let the emotional cries of a few “knowledgeable” people overshadow the hardworking biologists that our beloved state has employed to manage our natural wildlife resources.
Randall J. Liska
Cortez
