Conservancy Protests Federal Proposal to Delist Eastern Cougar
Fall 2015
The Michigan Wildlife Conservancy (MWC) has formally asked the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) to rescind the agency's proposal to declare the Eastern cougar extinct and remove it from the Federal List of Endangered and Threatened Species. The non-profit organization, based in Bath, near Lansing, says the FWS is wrong in its assertion that researchers have not succeeded in detecting any cougars within the subspecies' historical range that includes Michigan, and has urged the agency to conduct a fresh, scientific investigation of the animal's status.
The FWS has considered a huge territory from the Mississippi River to the Atlantic Ocean as the original range of the federal-listed endangered Eastern Cougar. The MWC thinks there is evidence that small populations may still be present in a few states and Canadian provinces. Cougar tracks, photographs, DNA evidence, and thousands of sighting reports of cougars have been recorded in Michigan. This evidence dates back at least 80 years, and suggests cougars were never completely extirpated from the state. It also suggests that some of Michigan's cougars are likely descended from those native animals.
"The FWS doesn't want to protect or otherwise manage cougars east of the Mississippi River, except in Florida where the agency conducted an expensive and well-publicized long-term effort to save the "Florida panther," said Dr. Pat Rusz, MWC's director of wildlife programs. "Instead of developing a strategy based on science, the FWS is trying to use bureaucratic magic to make the cougar in Michigan go 'poof.'"
The issue is particularly important to Michigan, MWC contends, because the state has a tremendous body of evidence of cougars, and in December of 2013, a cougar was illegally killed in the eastern Upper Peninsula. Although the incident was well within the FWS-designated range of the Eastern cougar, the agency brought no federal charges. The Michigan Department of Natural Resources (MDNR) successfully prosecuted the individuals involved under the endangered species protection sections of the state's natural resources protection laws. "The FWS seemed to have implemented the rule change before it was formally passed," said Bill Taylor, MWC Chairman of the Board.
The MWC conducted (primarily in 2001-2003) the only large-scale searched for cougar evidence in Michigan. A 2006 peer-reviewed paper by Dr. Brad Swanson of Central Michigan University and Dr. Rusz concluded that at least eight cougars were found in Michigan during the field work based, in part, on DNA analyses of fecal samples. The scats were found in locales with long histories of cougar reports, and where there was physical evidence of cougars before, during, and after the field studies. Some of that post-study evidence was collected by a MDNR "Cougar Team" put together in 2008. The MDNR has verified more than 25 sets of physical evidence of cougars in Michigan, but MDNR and FWS staff routinely describe every cougar that is detected as a Western transient without any scientific basis for making such a conclusion.
"An objective review of such evidence should reveal that Michigan has some resident cougars, not just escaped or released pets or transients moving east from South Dakota, said Dr. Rusz. He argues that FWS is using a "back-door approach" to avoid its responsibilities under federal law.
"The MWC would not object to FWS declaring the Eastern cougar a misclassified animal if genetic investigations of cougars in Michigan and other Eastern U.S. and Canadian locations show this to be consistent with science," says Dr. Rusz. "That position could make it difficult for FWS to continue to classify and manage the so-called Florida panther as a separate, and endangered, subspecies of cougar. But it would be a big mistake for FWS to attempt to avoid related problems by simply declaring the eastern cougar extinct. That would be inconsistent with the evidence from Canada and Michigan, and would be a step-back from the 'science based' management approach touted by state and federal wildlife agencies."
The MWC has consistently advocated a cougar management plan for Michigan that does not close any roads or restrict any land access, does not change any land use practices, and provides for the prompt control of any problem cougars. It has requested FWS involvement in studies that utilize modern DNA analyses to determine what (if any) distinctive populations of native cougars continue to exist in the Eastern U.S. and Canada.
The FWS has considered a huge territory from the Mississippi River to the Atlantic Ocean as the original range of the federal-listed endangered Eastern Cougar. The MWC thinks there is evidence that small populations may still be present in a few states and Canadian provinces. Cougar tracks, photographs, DNA evidence, and thousands of sighting reports of cougars have been recorded in Michigan. This evidence dates back at least 80 years, and suggests cougars were never completely extirpated from the state. It also suggests that some of Michigan's cougars are likely descended from those native animals.
"The FWS doesn't want to protect or otherwise manage cougars east of the Mississippi River, except in Florida where the agency conducted an expensive and well-publicized long-term effort to save the "Florida panther," said Dr. Pat Rusz, MWC's director of wildlife programs. "Instead of developing a strategy based on science, the FWS is trying to use bureaucratic magic to make the cougar in Michigan go 'poof.'"
The issue is particularly important to Michigan, MWC contends, because the state has a tremendous body of evidence of cougars, and in December of 2013, a cougar was illegally killed in the eastern Upper Peninsula. Although the incident was well within the FWS-designated range of the Eastern cougar, the agency brought no federal charges. The Michigan Department of Natural Resources (MDNR) successfully prosecuted the individuals involved under the endangered species protection sections of the state's natural resources protection laws. "The FWS seemed to have implemented the rule change before it was formally passed," said Bill Taylor, MWC Chairman of the Board.
The MWC conducted (primarily in 2001-2003) the only large-scale searched for cougar evidence in Michigan. A 2006 peer-reviewed paper by Dr. Brad Swanson of Central Michigan University and Dr. Rusz concluded that at least eight cougars were found in Michigan during the field work based, in part, on DNA analyses of fecal samples. The scats were found in locales with long histories of cougar reports, and where there was physical evidence of cougars before, during, and after the field studies. Some of that post-study evidence was collected by a MDNR "Cougar Team" put together in 2008. The MDNR has verified more than 25 sets of physical evidence of cougars in Michigan, but MDNR and FWS staff routinely describe every cougar that is detected as a Western transient without any scientific basis for making such a conclusion.
"An objective review of such evidence should reveal that Michigan has some resident cougars, not just escaped or released pets or transients moving east from South Dakota, said Dr. Rusz. He argues that FWS is using a "back-door approach" to avoid its responsibilities under federal law.
"The MWC would not object to FWS declaring the Eastern cougar a misclassified animal if genetic investigations of cougars in Michigan and other Eastern U.S. and Canadian locations show this to be consistent with science," says Dr. Rusz. "That position could make it difficult for FWS to continue to classify and manage the so-called Florida panther as a separate, and endangered, subspecies of cougar. But it would be a big mistake for FWS to attempt to avoid related problems by simply declaring the eastern cougar extinct. That would be inconsistent with the evidence from Canada and Michigan, and would be a step-back from the 'science based' management approach touted by state and federal wildlife agencies."
The MWC has consistently advocated a cougar management plan for Michigan that does not close any roads or restrict any land access, does not change any land use practices, and provides for the prompt control of any problem cougars. It has requested FWS involvement in studies that utilize modern DNA analyses to determine what (if any) distinctive populations of native cougars continue to exist in the Eastern U.S. and Canada.