The department is encouraging stakeholder input on protocol for mountain lion management actions in urban settings.
The workshop will begin with an overview of mountain lion status in Arizona, lion biology, and the factors that can lead to lion-human conflicts. Breakout sessions will focus on research needs, public information and education needs, funding, legislative approaches to address wildlife-human conflicts, and the department’s response protocol for urban mountain lion encounters.
The goal of the workshop is to begin the process of collecting stakeholder input that can be considered by the department and the Arizona Game and Fish Commission.
The venue for the first workshop will accommodate 300 participants, and a pre-registration process will be used to avoid overcrowding. The department has set aside 30 registrations for representatives of the governor’s office, state legislature, federal, county and municipal governments, and for recognized mountain lion biologists. The remaining spaces will be available by pre-registration unless demand exceeds available space. If demand is greater than the venue can accommodate, the department will work to ensure a balance of registrants from all interested stakeholder groups.
Individuals who do not get registered because of lack of space will be given opportunities to comment on the draft report and to attend future workshops to be held statewide. The public will receive notice of these opportunities.
If pre-registration does not fill available spaces by the April 22 registration deadline, the department will notify the public and will accept on-site registration the morning of the workshop.
An independent consultant will facilitate the Tucson workshop and will compile the results. A draft report will be made available on the Game and Fish Department web site, azgfd.com, and the public will be given 30 days to comment.
Those interested in attending the workshop may apply for registration in one of two ways:
1. Submit a registration application online at azgfd.com
2. Fax a registration application to (602) 789-3299. A faxable registration form is available on the department's web site or may be requested by calling (602) 942-3000.
The deadline for registration is 5 p.m. on April 22. Proof of registration will be sent by mail and must be presented at the workshop for admittance.
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