Nebraska Game and Parks Commission
31
A multi-year research eff ort
continues to deliver important
information on elk abundance,
movement, survival and
resource selection in
western Nebraska.
collected primarily in southwest Nebraska and the Pine Ridge to inform future management decisions of this
important game species.
The research is a fi ve-year study in collaboration with the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, the Nebraska
Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit and the University of Georgia.
Mountain lion research leads to solid management practices in Nebraska
Mountain lions are a high-profi le species in Nebraska and the people of the state expect Game and Parks to
have reliable information to manage them. Because of continued research and monitoring of the state's three
reproducing populations, the Commission has scientifi cally set harvest seasons that keep the mountain lion
population resilient, health and within social tolerance.
In 2024, we continued to use GPS collars, trail camera surveys, confi rmed and documented reports, and
genetic surveys to determine population abundance and survival, quantify movements and distribution
changes and make harvest recommendations. This work is instrumental in determining the expansion
and reproduction by mountain lions in the Niobrara Valley and Wildcat Hills units, added in 2024 and 2025
respectively.
