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HELENA – Applications for the West-central Lion Ecoregional Population Objective Committee (WC LEPOC) will be accepted through midnight on April 30. The committee will advise the Montana Fish and Wildlife Commission on management of the west-central mountain lion ecoregional population. The committee will recommend population trend, size and sex-age composition at the end of the next five years to address lion population sustainability at a target level that maximizes public satisfaction related to lion hunter opportunity, lion conflict and ungulate population trends.

In 2019, the Montana Fish and Wildlife Commission adopted the new Mountain Lion Monitoring and Management Strategy. This strategy outlines the scientific basis for conserving, monitoring and managing harvest of mountain lions in Montana. An integral part of implementing this new strategy in Montana is the formulation of a Lion Ecoregional Population Objective Committee in each of the three western lion ecoregions. The WC LEPOC will consist of 12 citizens representing a broad spectrum of mountain lion stakeholders who will be selected through an application process. The committee will meet for in-person meetings Aug. 15-16 and Oct. 12-13 to deliberate on the issues and make recommendations that FWP can carry forward to the Fish and Wildlife Commission. Committee members will be required to attend all meetings.

Those interested in applying for membership on the committee may download an application from FWP’s website by clicking here.

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