(Lincoln, NE) -- The Nebraska Game and Parks Commission will consider a 2024 mountain lion hunting season.
The Commission will consider recommendations for the season at it's June 9th meeting. at its June 9 meeting.
Game and Parks says for the first time, a harvest season will be proposed for mountain lions outside the Pine Ridge. If approved, a Niobrara Unit will be created, encompassing parts of Brown, Cherry, Keya Paha, Rock and Sheridan counties. Mountain lion presence has been documented in the Niobrara River Valley of north-central Nebraska since 2001. There has been a resident reproducing population there since 2013 and information gathered through research suggests a population that is growing and will be resilient to harvest.
Season 1 in the Niobrara and Pine Ridge units would take place Jan. 2 through the end of February. The season would end immediately in a unit if the annual harvest limit or female sub-limit were reached. The Pine Ridge limit would be four mountain lions with a sub-limit of two females. The Niobrara limit would be two mountain lions with a one female sub-limit. Up to 320 permits would be issued by lottery in the Pine Ridge Unit and up to 160 permits will be issued in the Niobrara Unit. An auxiliary season would be held March 16 through the end of March if the annual harvest limit or female sub-limit were not reached during Season 1 in a unit.