From: terri register To: GFP Mountain Lion Plan Cc: [email protected] Subject: [EXT] Date: Saturday, August 24, 2019 8:46:10 PM To whom it may concern: Your proposed plan needs more consideration based on the following points: This draft plan is not geared towards conservation, it is designed favor trophy hunting. Mountain lions can manage their own numbers and do not need concentrated human effort. Hunting is not effective because it kills the lions least likely to come into conflict with people, pets and livestock. What is left is young dispersing lions that are most likely to come into conflict. Non-lethal management is more effective. Killing female mountain lions leaves behind orphaned kittens. Hunting leaves kittens to die a cruel death from starvation, dehydration, and exposure. Mountain lions are a critical species in their ecosystems, maintaining biological diversity and other benefits to people. Please reconsider your proposed plan and create a more humane and ecologically sound proposal. Respectfully, Terri Register [email protected] From: Dean Parker To: GFP Mountain Lion Plan Subject: [EXT] Comments on 2019-2029 South Dakota Mountain Lion Plan Date: Sunday, August 25, 2019 7:10:29 PM Please remove the arbitrary and unnecessary population objective/cap on mountain lions in the Black Hills, currently listed as 200 to 300 cats in the draft plan. The Black Hills is able to safely accommodate a much larger population of mountain lions than 200-300. Trophy hunting is not an effective way to prevent conflicts with mountain lions. Killing mountain lions is harmful to their social structure and actually increases conflicts with humans, pets and livestock. The draft plan allows for high levels of trophy hunting to address conflicts with livestock. However, as the plan shows, mountain lions rarely prey on livestock. South Dakota Game Fish and Parks should prioritize managing mountain lions for the social and ecological benefits they provide to all South Dakotans and our natural landscape, rather than manage mountain lions for maximum trophy hunting opportunity as the draft plan does. Dean Parker 2905 East 33rd Street Sioux Falls, SD 57103 605-360-3571 From: Sara Parker To: GFP Mountain Lion Plan Subject: [EXT] Comments on the South Dakota Mountain Lion Draft Plan Date: Sunday, August 25, 2019 6:54:41 PM I’m writing to ask you to remove the arbitrary and unnecessary population objective/cap on mountain lions in the Black Hills, currently listed as 200 to 300 cats in the draft plan. The Black Hills is able to safely accommodate a much larger population of mountain lions, as the 2017/18 preseason population estimate for the Black Hills was approximately 532 total mountain lions. Trophy hunting is not an effective way to prevent conflicts with mountain lions. Killing mountain lions is harmful to their social structure and actually increases conflicts with humans, pets and livestock. The draft plan allows for high levels of trophy hunting to address conflicts with livestock. However, as the plan shows, mountain lions rarely prey on livestock. Please prioritize managing mountain lions for the social and ecological benefits they provide to all South Dakotans and our natural landscape, rather than manage mountain lions for maximum trophy hunting opportunity as the draft plan does. Thank you, Sara Parker Sioux Falls, SD 605-376-9073 From: Brett Koenecke To: GFP Mountain Lion Plan Subject: [EXT] Comments Date: Tuesday, August 13, 2019 11:39:35 AM I am a landowner in the Black Hills. I also have a vacation business and have domestic animals. I think the stated goals in the management plan are too high. 150 is plenty. 50 is ok. 0 would be perfectly fine. I am unconvinced that the population goals should be raised at all. This is a bad decision to make and the Commission should reject it. Brett Koenecke Custer, SD From: Anna Br-An To: GFP Mountain Lion Plan Cc: [email protected] Subject: [EXT] Draft Lion Management Plan 2019-2029 Date: Sunday, August 25, 2019 5:20:41 AM South Dakota Game, Fish and Parks 523 E Capitol Pierre SD 57501 Sir, madam, to whom it concerns: I read your draft plan and find that unfortunately it is designed to manage mountain lions for maximum trophy hunting opportunity, not for conservation! Mountain lions regulate their own numbers and do not require intense management to limit their populations. Hunting is a bad tool, killing the lions least likely to come into conflict with people, pets and livestock, and creating more space for young dispersing lions that are most likely to come into conflict. Non-lethal methods are more effective and last longer. Killing female mountain lions results in the orphaning of their kittens. Hunting leaves kittens to die from starvation, dehydration, and exposure. Mountain lions are a keystone species in their ecosystems, maintaining biological diversity and other benefits to people. I urge you to end the hunting of these precious mountain lions. There's just too little habitat, too much human-caused mortality, and too few mountain lions to justify a hunt. Remember, South Dakota's wildlife belongs to everyone, not to killers! Sincerely: Anna Brewer, Tina Beurtels; John Summers; Henry T.; Vickey Osborn; Teddy Miller , New York; Amanda Fields; Jurgen Sorens; Rita Suffolk; Mary Dalton; Joseph Pritchard; Kimberley Fields; Simon Sears; Beverly Woods; Anita Brewer; Daniel Russel; Petra Stafford; Kim Wright; Daphne Harlington, New Mexico; Kathy Stafford, Joan Butterfield, Kenneth Lawson, Myrthe Low, Diane Bremer, US From: Andrea Sreiber To: GFP Mountain Lion Plan Cc: [email protected] Subject: [EXT] Draft Lion Management Plan 2019-2029 Date: Sunday, August 25, 2019 9:53:30 AM South Dakota Game, Fish and Parks 523 E Capitol Pierre SD 57501 Sir, madam, to whom it concerns, I read your draft plan and find that unfortunately it is designed to manage mountain lions for maximum trophy hunting opportunity, not for conservation! Mountain lions regulate their own numbers and do not require intense management to limit their populations. Hunting is a bad tool, killing the lions least likely to come into conflict with people, pets and livestock, and creating more space for young dispersing lions that are most likely to come into conflict. Non-lethal methods are more effective and last longer. Killing female mountain lions results in the orphaning of their kittens. Hunting leaves kittens to die from starvation, dehydration, and exposure. Mountain lions are a keystone species in their ecosystems, maintaining biological diversity and other benefits to people. I urge you to end the hunting of these precious mountain lions. There's just too little habitat, too much human-caused mortality, and too few mountain lions to justify a hunt. Remember, South Dakota's wildlife belongs to everyone, not to killers! Sincerely, Andrea Sreiber Serbia Virus-free. www.avast.com From: [email protected] To: GFP Mountain Lion Plan Cc: Mountain Lion Foundation Subject: [EXT] Draft Lion Management Plan 2019-2029 Date: Sunday, August 25, 2019 2:40:14 PM South Dakota Game, Fish and Parks 523 E Capitol Pierre SD 57501 Sir, madam, to whom it concerns: I read your draft plan and find that unfortunately it is designed to manage mountain lions for maximum trophy hunting opportunity, not for conservation! Mountain lions regulate their own numbers and do not require intense management to limit their populations. Hunting is a bad tool, killing the lions least likely to come into conflict with people, pets and livestock, and creating more space for young dispersing lions that are most likely to come into conflict. Non-lethal methods are more effective and last longer. Killing female mountain lions results in the orphaning of their kittens. Hunting leaves kittens to die from starvation, dehydration, and exposure. Mountain lions are a keystone species in their ecosystems, maintaining biological diversity and other benefits to people. I urge you to end the hunting of these precious mountain lions. There's just too little habitat, too much human-caused mortality, and too few mountain lions to justify a hunt. Remember, South Dakota's wildlife belongs to everyone, not to killers! Sincerely: Dr. Elisabeth Bechmann Austria From: Sau Sang To: GFP Mountain Lion Plan Cc: [email protected] Subject: [EXT] Draft Lion Management Plan 2019-2029 Date: Sunday, August 25, 2019 6:45:09 AM South Dakota Game, Fish and Parks 523 E Capitol Pierre SD 57501 Sir, madam, to whom it concerns: I read your draft plan and find that unfortunately it is designed to manage mountain lions for maximum trophy hunting opportunity, not for conservation! Mountain lions regulate their own numbers and do not require intense management to limit their populations. Hunting is a bad tool, killing the lions least likely to come into conflict with people, pets and livestock, and creating more space for young dispersing lions that are most likely to come into conflict. Non-lethal methods are more effective and last longer. Killing female mountain lions results in the orphaning of their kittens. Hunting leaves kittens to die from starvation, dehydration, and exposure. Mountain lions are a keystone species in their ecosystems, maintaining biological diversity and other benefits to people. I urge you to end the hunting of these precious mountain lions. There's just too little habitat, too much human-caused mortality, and too few mountain lions to justify a hunt. Remember, South Dakota's wildlife belongs to everyone, not to killers! Sincerely: Sang From: Kate Kenner To: GFP Mountain Lion Plan Cc: [email protected] Subject: [EXT] Draft Lion Management Plan 2019-2029 Date: Sunday, August 25, 2019 8:39:41 AM South Dakota Game, Fish and Parks 523 E Capitol Pierre SD 57501 Good day, I have read your plan to manage mountain lions and sadly it seems more designed for trophy hunters than anything else.