State Senator LeRoy Louden (Neb. Dist. 49) of Ellsworth in the northwest Panhandle introduced a bill last week aimed at helping ranchers protect their cattle against the steadily increasing threat of predation by mountain lions.

The bill (LB747) would clarify current policy regarding predator control, which generally allows livestock producers to shoot animals threatening their herds. By issuing 30-day permits to take threatening mountain lions, the proposed law will assure that farmers and ranchers can target lions preying on livestock while protecting the greater, non-threatening lion population, said Louden.

According to rumor, about six threatening lions have been shot by ranchers in the northwest Panhandle over the past two years. Verifying that number is difficult, said Louden, because the ranchers are concerned they could be held criminally or civilly liable under the present, somewhat fuzzy mountain lion policy.

Louden, in a hearing before the Legislature’s Natural Resources Committee on Jan. 27, said that ranchers presently use the “three-S” system – “...shoot, shovel and shut-up.”

Sam Wilson of the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission, which supports the bill, said the 30-day permits will allow ranchers to be certain they are following the law and that they are free from any kind of liability.

The Game and Parks Commission has recorded 93 confirmed mountain lion sightings in the northwest Panhandle since 1991. As lion populations increase, younger male lions generally move into new territories, expanding the population range. Mountain lion reproduction has been confirmed in three Pine Ridge counties – Sioux, Dawes and Sheridan, said Wilson, who added that younger male lions may be moving into other counties.

Pete McClymont, with Nebraska Cattlemen, noted that the permit system will also provide information to the Game and Parks Commission, leading to a better understanding of the range and population of the animals.