Mostly cloudy. Low 17F. Winds WSW at 10 to 20 mph..

Mostly cloudy. Low 17F. Winds WSW at 10 to 20 mph.

Mostly cloudy. Low 17F. Winds WSW at 10 to 20 mph..

Mostly cloudy. Low 17F. Winds WSW at 10 to 20 mph.

OPINION — Her new home sits on the edge of a mountain canyon.

The view looks down on Boulder and out over the adjacent prairie.

The yard is protected by a black steel security fence that is over six feet high.

But the front gate is left open much of the year, so that the resident herd of mule deer can come and go as they wish.

I could have warned her.

Our mother had similar mountain lion concerns here in Spearfish.

If you have a view that provides concealment to the creatures below, you will attract lions.

If you have lush plantings and a well-manicured and fertilized lawn, you will attract deer.

If you happen to live on the edge of some of the most densely populated mountain lion habitat in the nation, you will have to watch your dogs. If you have a reflecting pool or ponds and any of the above, it is only a matter of time before you attract feline visitors.

Mountain lions sell papers as easily as grisly crime scene photos or car crashes.

Of late, a few of the big cats have taken small dogs off of the leash while a panicked owner struggled with thoughts of rescue.

Most of us love our pets, but lions have so many more tools at their disposal to discourage human intervention.

Once a lion locks on, it’s your Shih Tzu or you.

I have owned several wonderful dogs whose entire purpose in life was to defend the children I placed under their care.

They would have gladly given their lives fighting of a lion if need be and had been bred for the purpose.

Sadly, my sister’s dogs were chosen, based on how little they shed or were inherited from elderly relatives who wanted an animal small enough to fit on their laps while they drove their land yachts from port to port.

Her little dog provides no security other than a yapping alarm and worse yet might draw large predators as easily as a leashed pet bunny.

Sister Laura feels that her yard provides too much concealment and only allows the dogs out on their balcony rather than run the risk of their sudden disappearance.  

An event that is becoming increasingly common according to news from the Boulder news outlets.

Boulder, Colo., is a wonderful portal into the future for the rest of nation.

It turned the traditional hunter gatherer paradigm on its head long ago and went out of its way to ensure that humans were densely packed like rabbits in a warren.

Wildlife and nature were given priority in their travels. Open spaces were protected to ensure that wild animals and urbanites might enjoy each other’s company on a daily basis.

I recall speaking with a retired police officer from Boulder who claimed to have killed so many deer during his career as the result of vehicle collisions that he couldn’t bear the thought of hunting.

He has already shot more deer than any legal hunter would ever harvest in a lifetime.

Lions and bears follow the deer and now with a newly passed directive from a voter referendum, reintroduced wolves will soon be loping through their cul-de-sacs and terraced mountain retreats.  

With a vibrant mountain biking, jogging, and hiking community, it seems likely that personal trainers will be losing business.

Who needs to be motivated to exercise by a human instructor after you have been chased to your door by a bear?  

A neighbor just down the ridge, sent me a picture of a lion taken this last weekend on his ranch.

The young male lion was estimated at 2 years of age and had been pushed out of the Hills searching for new territory of his own.

Lion hunting on the prairie has a 12-month season and cats taken here are not included in the Black Hills quota.

At this point, 34 animals have been harvested with 20 females and 14 males.

The warm and open winter has reduced tracking opportunities and fewer cats have been taken than at this time last season.

Many of the cats taken have been more than five years old with the two eldest estimated at 9 and 11.

Lions reaching this age indicate that hunting pressure has been well managed by the GFP and concerns of overhunting are misguided.

I’m traveling to Colorado soon to the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation Banquet and hope to compare Boulder’s traffic to our own.

We seem to be catching up when it comes to traffic counts and Boulder’s lion overpopulation will probably be more quickly solved by car bumpers rather than hunters.

The Speirs family has owned and operated Crow Creek Wildlife Management Service since 1996.

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