Nebraska proposal would add limited landowner mountain lion permits; ranchers cite livestock loss, conservationists urge caution

Sen. Paul Stroman introduced LB1232 to add limited landowner mountain lion permits to Nebraska law, arguing regulated permits are a science‑based management tool to address growing mountain lion populations in parts of western Nebraska and to reduce livestock depredation.

"LB 12 32 would amend Nebraska's current game law to include the issuance of limited landowner mountain lion permits," Stroman said, framing the proposal as a way to provide landowners a managed option aligned with how elk landowner permits already operate.

Timothy McCoy, director of the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission, testified in support and said the landowner eligibility, application fee treatment and draw process would mirror existing elk landowner permits; the agency emphasized that adding landowner permits would not increase the total number of permits available because landowner and public allocations would be set from the existing quota. "It will not change how we set our quotas for the number of lions that can be harvested in any of those units," McCoy told the committee.

Landowners from the Wildcat Hills and Niobrara areas described recurring livestock losses and urged additional tools. Paula Brown, who identified herself as a rancher in the Wildcat Hills, said depredation has had tangible economic impact: "The year before that, I had 11 unaccounted for," she said, describing carcasses found partially buried and damaged in ways consistent with mountain lion predation.

Opponents, including conservation and environmental groups, questioned whether adding a landowner permit class is prudent where population estimates are small and still developing. The Sierra Club representative said some designated units have modest totals — the Game and Parks speaker noted a population estimate of about 70 mountain lions in the Pine Ridge area — and warned that language allowing landowner permits to exceed large fractions of available permits in a unit could reduce access for public hunters and complicate quota management.

Game and Parks officials answered technical questions about population monitoring and harvest history: the agency provided per‑year harvest figures and said female subquotas exist to protect reproductive capacity; it also noted that some units closed early in recent seasons when female quotas were met.

The committee received mixed testimony: 13 online proponents and six opponents were reported. The hearing closed with no vote. If advanced, lawmakers and the agency would need to clarify allocation limits, acreage thresholds, and safeguards to ensure small local populations are not overharvested on opening days.