ixACKNOWL EDGMENTS
The long- term nature of the information in this book required support from numer-
ous individuals and agencies. I am especially indebted to the administration and
employees of the South Dakota Department of Game, Fish and Parks for funding
proj ects on mountain lions, beginning in 1998 and extending through 2014. These
proj ects (study numbers 7594, 75106, 7587, 7537, and 7545) were funded through the
Federal Aid to Wildlife Restoration Act, administered through the South Dakota De-
partment of Game, Fish and Parks. I thank Doug Hanson, George Vandel, Tony Leif,
Emmitt Keyser, Tom Kirschenmann, Ron Fowler, Chad Switzer, Mike Kintigh, John
Kanta, Steve Griffin, Jack Alexander, Ted Benzon, Andy Lindbloom, Chad Lehman,
Blair Waite, and numerous others who helped with mountain lion captures and sup-
ported our work within the department. At times, the Rapid City Chapter of Safari
Club International also provided support for our proj ects. Also, I am grateful to the
many volunteers who helped with lion captures and the many landowners who pro-
vided access to their property to allow capturing mountain lions and locating or
retrieving their carcasses.
Individuals associated with the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) Black Hills
National Forest, the Wind Cave National Park, the Jewel Cave National Monument,
the Mount Rushmore National Monument, the Black Elk Wilderness Area, the
Wyoming Game and Fish Department, the North Dakota Game and Fish Depart-
ment, the Montana Department of Parks and Wildlife, the Nebraska Department of
Game and Parks, the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation, the Minnesota
Department of Natu ral Resources, and the Manitoba Ministry of Natu ral Resources
also provided information or support for our work at one time or another. These stud-
ies could not have been completed without the aid of the South Dakota Wing of the
Civil Air Patrol and its many pi lots, including Leo Becht, Rodney (Buck) Deweese,
Gerald Kirk, and Mike Beason.
I also thank my gradu ate students, Dorothy (Fecske) Wells, resource biologist, Great
Swamp National Wildlife Refuge; Dan Thompson, leader, Trophy Game Office,
Wyoming Game and Fish Department; Brian Jansen, Arizona Game and Fish
Department; Josh Smith, Savanah River Ecol ogy Laboratory; and Beckie Juarez,
Savannah River Ecol ogy Laboratory, who completed gradu ate degrees working on
mountain lions in the Black Hills. These individuals collected much of the informa-
tion presented in the book, contributed to critical discussions on many aspects of