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New Mexico

New Mexico. Cougar status in a human dominated landscape. Basics. Cougar Season: Oct. 1- Mar. 31 Year around on private lands and BHS areas Bag is 1 adult, 2 on BHS areas, and special mgmt. areas Avg. harvest is +/- 200 animals

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New Mexico

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  1. New Mexico Cougar status in a human dominated landscape

  2. Basics • Cougar Season: Oct. 1- Mar. 31 • Year around on private lands and BHS areas • Bag is 1 adult, 2 on BHS areas, and special mgmt. areas • Avg. harvest is +/- 200 animals • Avg. harvest increases with time, non-resident harvest increases with time • Hound use is allowed and accounts for 90% of harvest • Long term avg. of 40% female in harvest

  3. Total Harvest

  4. Management History • 1867: $5.00 bounty • 1923-70: Bounty suspended, cougar unprotected. • 1971: Protected, hunting in SW Only, bag 1 • 1972-1978: Seasons increasingly liberal • 1979-83: 11 month season, bag 2. • 1984: 3 month season, bag 1. • 1985-99: 4 month season, bag 1 • 2001-2002: 6 month season, year around season in BHS areas, bag 1 • 2002-2007: Year long in BHS areas, bag 2, year around season on private property • 2007-… : Dual harvest limit, sport and total sustainable mortality, population model and management driven

  5. Management Concerns • Total mortality • Sustainable mortality (depredations, BHS removals, roadkill, private land harvest, preventative control, etc.) • Sport harvest (private land harvest not included in sport harvest) • Management objectives by region (BHS, wild ungulate protection, livestock depredation issues, etc.) • Female harvest, particularly older females

  6. How to Fix it? • Create a new habitat model • Try and include all variables • Do the math and see what you get • Does it make sense? • If it makes sense try to apply it for some period of time • And you get…

  7. Model Habitat Components • Super Core = > 2200 k² w/good prey density in large patches w/low road density (sources) • Core = 2200-1000 k² patches w/low road density (sources and dispersal) • Minimum patch = 100-1000 k² patches (dispersal and minimal sources) • Dispersal = 10-100 k² patches (dispersal only)

  8. Faults with Model • Based on density estimates • Based on assumptions of prey usage (density estimates) • Based on assumptions of how much habitat a given cat uses (density estimates) • Based on what a cat would do given the choice of what to do if it does what we assume it would do if we were it…

  9. Current Research & Needs • Female removal = no resident males • Habitat use and connectivity • Genetic linkages • Prey switching and/or subsidized predation • Source/sink dynamics ($, grad student, ??) • And yet again, how do you count freakin’ lions?

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