In a parody of Camelot, I would encourage all to "Dream more impossible 
dreams and fight fewer unbeatable foes."

Certainly we could think of some good reasons to provide a protected 
status to mountain lions in Iowa.  But, an effort to protect them will 
likely only result in a blackened eye for those who propose it, or for 
the Sierra Club if it is done in its name.

Unfortunately, there is a great and mostly irrational fear of predators, 
here and everywhere.  Some counties in the southern tier of Iowa are 
considering bounties on mountain lions.  I heard a presentation of the 
efforts to introduce the red wolf into the Lands Between the Lakes in 
Kentucky/Tennessee.  At one of the meeting someone said they knew that 
wolves sneaked up to cribs and sucked the breath from babies.

Predators are the "blame game" all over the country.  In Alaska if you 
didn't  get a moose to feed the family over the winter and had to settle 
for a caribou, you blamed the wolves.  In Colorado and through much of 
the west coyotes are blamed for the demise of mule deer (when it is 
likely habitat destruction).  In Kansas you go hunt coyotes because they 
are destroying the pheasant population (In reality, studies showed, the 
more coyotes-the more pheasant because coyotes eat skunks, raccoons, 
etc. that are the real predators of pheasant).  We hear some of this 
same thing here in Iowa with coyotes and pheasant and rabbits. 

There is some justification for the fears of those who raise cattle and 
sheep as to the safety of their livelihood.  They do kill some livestock.

The politics of predators is intense.  In Colorado the politically 
appointed head of their DNR spent 2 hours flying around in a small plane 
and stepped off on the runway and declared that, "Now, I can clearly see 
that coyotes are causing the decline of mule deer."  The governor of 
Idaho simply drove down a highway in the Lochsa River Valley and 
declared that he could clearly see that the bears were causing the 
decline of elk by killing the calves.  So, there the limit was increased 
to 2 bears per hunter.  I have to say that I have driven that highway 
and hunted bears there.  The forest is so thick that you can hardly see 
25 yds into it from the highway.  Politicians are going to want to do 
the people pleasing thing and not protect predators.

So, I might encourage some to keep their powder dry and save their 
ammunition for an issue where they might be more effective.  I would 
guess that those who say we haven't need the cougar in Iowa for the last 
100 years will win the day.

Lanny Schwartz

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