🚀 go-pugleaf

In article <4i2tiu$g7r@news.clandjop.com>, jcameron@clandjop.com (Jim
Cameron) wrote:

> snip
> Our daughter is here in Missouri visiting us who lives in Florida.   
> She wanted me to check with you people in California and 
> find out about the outcome of the cougar vote in California.
> She fears that the cougar is in danger of becoming extinct,
> and that there was some kind of vote to be put beforre the people
> of California which would determine the future for the cougar
> population.
> snip

   The cougar is not an endangered or a threatened species, e.g. not
anywhere near extinction.  Hunting of threatened and endangered species is
not allowed in California and I believe also not in any state in the USA. 
The vote, which is scheduled for March 26, would reinstate hunting of this
species which was stopped in 1991 (? I think) by another ballot measure.
   This initiative wishes to reimplement hunting.  Some proponents point
to an increase in cougar attacks and the need to cull the population.  IMO
a better supporting argument is to get the state's Fish and Game
department (F&G) back in the job of overseeing this species.
   Each state's F&G uses hunting to maintain the hunted species population
at a reasonably constant level.  In years with many animals extra tags are
given to hunters to bring the population back to the target level (what
the available habitat can safely support).  In years with few animals
fewer (or no) tags are given out.  This is important as overpopulations
have resulted in near complete destruction of the habitat:  eating every
food plant in sight followed by mass starvation.  This happened on the
Kaibab Plateau (north rim of the Grand Canyon) in the 1950s when hunting
was temporarily banned there.
   Of course if we could convince the earth's human population to stop
breeding like lemmings, there'd be more space for the animals.  Maximizing
available habitat is the key to keeping our animal bretheren away from
extinction.  Hunting fees go to improve the habitat that's left.  In our
arid state, water catchments are installed which provide year round water
for them.  These habitat improvements have been paid for almost
exclusively by hunters since about 1920.  Other portions of hunter fees go
toward studying the animals to further understand their needs.
   It saddens me that such a large portion of the population fail to
understand what hunters have done for wildlife.   They only see a
bloodthirsty hunter that is uncaring about wildlife.

Kirk Mueller
kdmueller@ccgate.hac.com        (310)334-2586
Hughes Aircraft Co., Radar and Communications Sector
El Segundo, CA  USA
---  All comments are strictly my own. ---