Is encroachment to blame for current mountain lion activity?
Mountain lion sightings and conflicts are almost always blamed on human encroachment. While this argument might hold weight in certain regions in California, it does not apply to the Santa Cruz Mountains.
In this area, new development is non-existent. The only construction consists of rebuilding structures lost in the devastating 2020 fires.
Many of these properties are deeply historic. Some even date back to the Civil War during the Lincoln administration. Cascade Ranch, established in 1862, was destroyed in these fires alongside numerous homes built long before wildlife protection laws ever existed.
Human development in this region is actively shrinking rather than expanding. In fact, according to the Reimagining Big Basin Facility Management Plan, human infrastructure is being reduced by 50 percent.
Major campgrounds like Bloom Creek, Wastahi and Sempervirens are being decommissioned and returned to nature.
These mountains have become an ecological island cut off by surrounding roads. Trapped here, mountain lions are forced to inbreed and adapt to shockingly small home ranges of a mere 5-10 square miles. We can hardly blame the increase in sightings and pet and livestock losses on encroachment when human development is actually receding.
Instead, the real culprit is the critical lack of available territory. Adult lions are being pushed to their limits, and I believe they will refuse to let their home ranges shrink any further.
As a result, we are forcing a tragic and dangerous conflict. Young lions are simply trying to find their own territory to survive while the adults are simply trying to defend their tiny home ranges.
Under these pressure-cooker conditions, territorial adults will either kill the next generation or force them into our backyards in order to defend their boundaries.
When we hyperfocus on the idea that encroachment is the driving force behind all wildlife issues, we lose sight of what’s actually going on.
Phil Salgado
Morgan Hill
