Wildlife officials propose study of Bitterroot’s lion population

State wildlife officials want to take a closer look at mountain lion populations in the southern reaches of the Bitterroot Valley.

If their proposed study is funded, they hope its results will provide some key information that will help in managing carnivore and ungulate populations across the state.

This week, members of the Ravalli County Fish and Wildlife Association anted upwards of $10,500 to help the department pay for a density study of the elusive big cats. Mountain lions have taken center stage as the chief predator of calf elk at the halfway point of a three-year study of elk and predator dynamics in the east and west forks of the Bitterroot.