The Nebraska Game and Parks Commission has approved a mountain lion hunting season for early next year and, for the first time, it includes a unit outside the Pine Ridge where the bulk of the state’s big cats live.
The new NIobrara Unit includes parts of Sheridan, Cherry, Brown, Keya Paha, and Rock counties. Mountain lions have been documented there since 2001 with a resident reproducing population since 2013 that research suggests is growing.
The objective of both the Pine Ridge and Niobrara units is to provide an opportunity for hunters to take animals at a level that slows the growth of the mountain lion population, allowing it to remain resilient and healthy.
The season in both units runs from January 5th to February 29th with harvest limits of 4 cats or 2 females in the Pine Ridge Unit and 2 mountain lions or 1 female in the Niobrara Unit.
Hunting will end in a unit when either of its limits is reached. If a limit isn’t reached by the end of February, a second season in that unit will run the final 2 weeks of March.
Hunting permits will be issued by a lottery limited to Nebraska residents with a maximum of 320 permits in the Pine Ridge Unit and 160 in the Niobrara Unit.