Mountain lion management plan sets goals for west Colorado

GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. (AP) — A draft plan by the Colorado Parks and Wildlife department would maintain stable populations of mountain lions in western Colorado.

The plan would establish a special management area to deal with conflicts between lions and humans, The Daily Sentinel reported Sunday.

The agency proposes to manage lions on a regional rather than a local level to reflect factors such as the mobility of the lions.

The plan’s goal is to establish relatively stable populations in both the northern and southern regions of the state's West Slope.

The updated goal replaces objectives for 13 localized areas, including two areas in which mountain lions are managed with a goal of suppressing their numbers.

The plan proposes a 2021-22 hunting goal of 243 lions for the northwest Colorado region and 185 in the southwest region. In 2018-19, the limit was 317 lions for northwest Colorado and 194 in southwest Colorado.

Hunters across the entire northwest region averaged 228 lion kills per year in the period from 2016 to 2018, the draft plan said.

The plan was posted online for review and the wildlife department seeks public feedback by April 12.