The Texas Parks and Wildlife Commission on Nov. 6 received a final draft of the Texas Mountain Lion Research and Monitoring Plan that prioritizes research and regular monitoring because fundamental population data for mountain lions are currently lacking.

The plan, presented by Jonah Evans, nongame and rare species program leader in the department's wildlife division, lays out a 10-year framework centered on data collection, an integrated population model to estimate numbers over time, and a five-year progress review. Evans said past Texas studies showed human-caused mortality — primarily harvest — is the dominant source of lion deaths and that reliable harvest data are essential for accurate population models.

"For several decades, people have recognized that the department needed accurate data on mountain lion populations," Evans said. "Without reliable death-rate or harvest information, the integrated population model cannot produce accurate trend estimates." He noted the department released a mountain-lion reporting module in the Texas Hunt & Fish app on Oct. 24, 2024, but had received only two reports through the platform to date.

Why it matters: The commission's ability to set management objectives depends on reliable, repeatable population estimates. The plan recommends defining population-analysis units, determining minimum viable population sizes, and developing monitoring priorities and data-management systems. It also sets out five goals: determine population status, build data and stakeholder frameworks, encourage voluntary measures where appropriate, mitigate lion–human conflict, and prioritize future research needs.

The plan traces a decades-long history of intermittent mountain-lion research in Texas, stakeholder petitions, and previous commission actions. Evans summarized earlier research that found high mortality rates and diminished genetic diversity in South Texas populations and said voluntary sighting reports have proven an unreliable data source for estimating total harvest.

Former commission chairman Joseph Fitzsimmons, who chaired the stakeholder working group that helped craft the plan, told commissioners the volunteer reporting approach had not produced usable data and said mandatory reporting would likely improve the department's ability to estimate total harvest. "Voluntary is not successful," Fitzsimmons said, noting measures to keep reporting confidential would help protect landowner privacy.

After discussion, Chair Paul Foster directed staff to prepare a rollout plan for mandatory harvest reporting and to examine the 1997 Texas Administrative Code provision that excludes mountain lions from the scientific-permit requirement. He asked staff to return with a proposal at the commission's March meeting.

Commission direction is distinct from a formal regulatory change; staff were asked to develop proposals for future consideration by the commission. The plan itself was presented as a final draft for briefing and discussion; no formal regulatory changes were adopted at the Nov. 6 meeting.

The speakers listed below appeared in the presentation and discussion and are the only people whose direct quotes are used in this article: Jonah Evans (nongame and rare species program leader, Wildlife Division, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department); Joseph Fitzsimmons (former commission chairman, stakeholder working group chair); Paul Foster (chairman, Texas Parks and Wildlife Commission).