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Federal inquiry traces payments from Gaetz to women; a new Florida-Puerto Rico partnership poised to transform higher-ed landscape; MT joins Tribes to target Canadian mining pollution; Heart health plummets in rural SD and nationwide; CO working families would pay more under Trump tax proposals.

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Transgender rights in Congress, a historic win for Utah's youngest elected official, scrutiny of Democratic Party leadership, and the economic impact of Trump's tax proposals highlight America's shifting political and social landscape.

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The CDC has a new plan to improve the health of rural Americans, updated data could better prepare folks for flash floods like those that devastated Appalachia, and Native American Tribes could play a key role in the nation's energy future.

Wildlife Advocates Push Back on MT Higher Mountain Lion Kill

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Monday, July 24, 2023   

Big-game advocates are pushing back against a move by the Montana Fish and Wildlife Commission to increase the number of mountain lions that can be legally killed in the state.

It's part of an effort to protect other prey animals - but critics call it a play for trophy hunters.

The Commission moved to increase the kill number for mountain lions, reducing their population by up to 40% in many areas.

Helena Edelson - president and CEO of the Gardiner-based Large Carnivore Fund - said the increase was passed despite objections by some mountain lion hunters, sporting and conservation groups, and even state biologists - largely due to the support of big-game hunters and political special interests.

"What Montanans need to see is how these policies play into commercialization of their wildlife," said Edelson. "This seems a political and financial maneuver partly driven by outfitters that benefit from trophy mountain lion hunts."

The state contends that Montana is home to higher numbers of large carnivores today than at any time in recent history, and culling the predators will help protect more vulnerable wildlife.

Edelson contended that hunters are not the only threat mountain lions and other big game face, and said the state is ignoring another key factor already driving down big-game numbers - mountain lions and their prey alike.

"And numbers never factored into the population counts are the 30,000 large animals killed in Montana road collisions each year," said Edelson. "That's elk, deer, pronghorn, moose, bighorn sheep, mountain lions and bears."

State game officials say to reduce the overall mountain lion population by 40%, hunters would need to take 86% more animals each year than they currently do, for at least the next six years.




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