sarah
By Jason Batchelder, Andrea Shortsleeve, John Austin, Alison Thomas, and Justin Stedman
A campaign is underway to bring mountain lions to Vermont, led by the nonprofit Mighty Earth. As the state agency that would be responsible for these cats if Mighty Earth succeeds, the Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department is asking mountain lion advocates to slow down.
We are biologists, game wardens, and environmental educators who have dedicated our lives to conservation. We love Vermont’s wildlife and wild places, and we can appreciate why some are excited to bring back a native large carnivore. We share the dream of a wilder Vermont, but even so, we need Vermonters to understand that reintroducing mountain lions would be much more complicated than it might appear.
Mountain lions are top predators that have not had a breeding population here since the 1800s. Mighty Earth recently told the Washington Post they wanted to have “paws on the ground in four years.” That is, to put it mildly, unrealistic.
We do not know enough about how mountain lions would do in today’s Vermont, or how Vermonters would do with mountain lions, to support rushing into this.
Early research on habitat and public attitudes in the eastern United States suggests reintroduction of mountain lions might be possible. And yet these studies raise as many questions as they answer.
Just how far, and how fast, could the mountain lions spread? What are the likely impacts to farmers, pet owners, hikers, and other trail users? What would the return of this large carnivore mean for Vermont’s deer and other prey species? What changes to our roads and highways would be needed to accommodate these far-roaming cats, and, at the risk of being blunt, how many will still end up as roadkill?
The list of unknowns goes on. Many of these research gaps are substantial enough to warrant standalone, peer-reviewed treatment in a scientific journal. But Mighty Earth is prematurely pushing for a broad-brush feasibility study.
That is putting the cart before the horse; the kind of comprehensive research initiative needed to arrive at answers that stand up to peer review will take time. It needs to be complete before we can honestly assess the feasibility of this proposal. And it needs to be complete before we can responsibly grapple with deeper questions such as whether bringing mountain lions here is the right thing to do, both for our communities and for the cats themselves.
Beyond the scientific and moral questions, there are also stark realities Vermont will have to face if we are serious about living alongside mountain lions.
Who will be held accountable when a cat kills livestock on private land? What happens when one becomes too comfortable around people and dens near a home or a school?
States with mountain lions have dedicated agency staff and significant, long-term funds specifically to meet the responsibilities of coexisting with these powerful animals. Vermont would be starting from scratch, and rushing will not set us or the mountain lions up for success.
Rushing will, however, jeopardize Vermont’s ability to earn the consent and collaboration of our neighboring state, provincial, and tribal governments. Other wildlife agencies in the Northeast have already expressed unease about the prospect of Vermont moving forward alone. Mountain lions released in Vermont are virtually certain to cross our borders into Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, and Quebec.
Without our region’s complete buy-in, reintroduction will not end well for us, our neighbors, or the mountain lions.
So, for the sake of the cats, we are imploring mountain lion advocates to pump the brakes.
Jason Batchelder is commissioner of the Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department, Andrea Shortsleeve is chief of operations, John Austin is director of the Wildlife Division, Alison Thomas is director of the Outreach Division, and Justin Stedman is director of the Game Warden Service.
The material presented here represents the opinion of the author and does not reflect the opinions of The Bridge. Commentaries may be submitted to editor@montpelierbridge.com. Preference is given to submissions by those who live in central Vermont. Submissions are encouraged to be 500 to 750 words in length.
