Voters' passage of Proposition 117, the Mountain Lion Initiative in 1990, committed $30 million annually for 30 years and is a perfect example of the "unintended" consequences of "do-gooder" initiatives.
Proposition 117 has effectively allowed mountain lions to roam free in areas where they present a significant threat to humans and themselves. They have also brought the California deer herd, one of California's great natural resources, on the verge of being another endangered species.
In 1990 when proposition 117 became law, Mountain Lion Foundation and the media had said the lion needed protection. That was not true. The lion population in fact, at that time, was more populated (4,000 to 6,000) than at any time since Fish and Game started keeping records.
Prior to 1963 Fish and Game had a good predator management program. Each county had a full-time Fish and Game trapper and a bounty on the lion. The lion population in 1963 was estimated at 1,000 to 1,300. Fish and Game estimated the Californian deer herd at 2 million At that time Fish and Game policy changed, eliminating predator management and replaced it with biology management. Their idea was to reduce the doe population. The California deer herd today, with biologist management, is down to a mere 485, 000 - or a 75 percent decline.
There has not been a lion count in 20 years and Fish and Game continues to use the 1988 count of 4,000 to 6,000 as the current population. Hunters, ranchers and the public in general do not believe Fish and Game when they continue to claim that the lion population is stable, especially when in recent years they see lions in their back yards, dead along the highways and seen inside city limits.
If a count shows that the lion population has exceeded the state's caring capacity, something should be done before we have another endangered species or another person or child killed. It would take four-fifths of the State Legislators or a Constitutional amendment to repeal Proposition 117. A repeal would also save taxpayers $30 million a year.
Charles F. McCullough is a San Benito County resident.
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