Living With Cougars

On May 10^th, Matt Blankenship, Wildlife Conflict Specialist for the Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW),  will give a presentation at the Buckhorn Range Chapter meeting at the Tri-Area Community Center at 7PM about living with cougars.   Matt handles most of the local investigations and follow-up.   He gave a similar presentation recently to the Cape George Homeowners Association.   Matt is very familiar with situation with the Cape George cougar, the Marrowstone Island cougar, the Sequim cougar, and all points between.   He will answer questions at the end of his talk.    (This sighting is by no means the first as both deer and livestock incidents have occurred.)

The WDFW office happens to be at Point Hudson near the Shanghai Restaurant.   They have a great deal of handouts and materials about dealing with wildlife in Jefferson County.   I’m sure Matt will bring some to the meeting relating to cougars.   When talking with him, I learned a great deal about the things we need to be aware of both as to maintaining our ranches and traveling on trails in the area.   It was clear that the more you know, the safer you are.   It is also reasonable to believe that the less incidents there are, the better it is for the long-term survival of the cougar as well.  

This meeting is open to anyone, and again, highly recommended for local pets, horses, and livestock owners.   Please circulate.