Kofa Mountain Lion Update

Though I wrote about the mountain lions of the Kofa National Wildlife Refuge a couple of times, it was never with the breadth and depth that Deb Durant of Invisible Voices has. She posted an important update that those of you who participated in the commenting period (regarding the killing of the Kofa lions) may know something about. Deb and I have both relied on Retired Wildlife Biologist Ron Kearns as our expert, and he has a lot to say about the situation, including a recommendation for those interested in commenting on the Draft Environmental Assessment (DEA): No Action Alternative A (which Ron adds in the comments section of the post). Though many of us commented in the original scoping period that killing the lions isn't acceptable at all, Ron suggests we "[s]imply stipulate—in [our] own words—that if the Service refuses to consider public comment- based Alternatives that prevent all GPS-collaring that could lead to lion killings, that [we]—without much choice except through possible litigation—support Alternative A: No Action Alternative."

This is a surreal situation in my opinion because, as Ron writes, "all 3 Alternatives in the DEA allow for the killing of Kofa lions, just at different rates and at different geographic locations."

I'm always fascinated by the procedure for determining what the public wants and then what actually occurs as a result.

Check it out!