Colorado
Will mountain lion hunting be banned in Colorado? Anti-hunting group takes aim practice
Colorado mountain lion facts: What to know about the predator
Mountain lions are thriving in Colorado with an estimated adult population of around 4,000.
An animal rights organization attempting to ban mountain lion hunting in Colorado has brought out the big guns for a final push to acquire enough signatures to place the measure on the November ballot.
Cats Aren’t Trophies held an online rally June 4, saying it has about 130,000 to 135,000 signatures collected but still needs 40,000 to 50,000 signatures in the final month to secure enough valid signatures to deliver to the Colorado Secretary of State.
It assumes around a 75% signature validation rate.
The deadline to submit just more than 124,000 verified signatures for proposed citizens initiative 91 is July 5. If enough valid signatures are secured, the measure will be on the Nov. 5 ballot.
During the June 4 rally, those answering questions included Colorado First Gentleman Marlon Reis; Pat Craig, founder of the Wild Animal Sanctuary in Keenesburg; Wayne Pacelle, president of Animal Wellness Action and the Center for a Humane Economy; and Howard Baskin, husband of Big Cat Rescue founder Carole Baskin of “Tiger King” fame.
Reis joined the online rally and said his role for the last six years as first gentleman was to advocate for animals. He said it was a no-brainer to back the mountain lion hunting ban effort, as he did the successful citizen initiative to reintroduce wolves.
“It’s a treat for me to be in the role I’m in,” he said during the online rally. “Whenever I find an effort to help animals not be taken advantage of or dispatched or treated in a really cruel way, I’m happy to help.”
Jennifer Burbey, president of the Colorado Outfitters Association, said the so-called “rewilding” of the West by organizations like Cats Aren’t Trophies, which want to revert to a landscape before human settlement, is pie-in-the-sky ideology.
“They truly believe that we can put the genie back in the bottle,” she said. “We have 5.8 million people in Colorado. Do we have to tell more than 5 million people they can’t live here anymore? Coexisting with wildlife is a beautiful idea until a mountain lion grabs your child from your backyard and you want to fight them to the death.
“The whole thing is grabbing at heartstrings,” Burbey said.
If the initiative receives enough valid signatures, voters will basically be deciding whether they believe hunting mountain lions and hunting and trapping bobcats is inhumane or if those actions should still be allowed since the populations of both species are stable to increasing with current hunting seasons.
Should citizen-initiated ballot measures regarding wildlife issues be allowed in Colorado?
Colorado is one of 26 states that allows at least one form of statewide citizen-initiated ballot measure. It allows for citizen-initiated constitutional amendments, statutes and veto referendums.
There are states that do not allow wildlife-related citizen initiatives.
Wildlife citizen-initiated ballot measures that have passed in Colorado include:
Sam Miller, Cats Aren’t Trophies campaign manager, told the Coloradoan: “We have gone to the legislature with this before and got a lot of pushback from hunting organizations. So as a last resort we have taken the initiative of using democracy and science to bring it to the voters. I am very confident we can win.”
Perry Will is a Republican member of the Colorado Senate, representing parts of seven western counties. He was against the citizens initiative to introduce wolves but was a sponsor of a recently passed bill to reintroduce wolverines. He was also a 40-year employee of the state wildlife agency now known as Colorado Parks and Wildlife.
“Ballot box biology is the absolute worst way you can manage wildlife,” Will told the Coloradoan. “Our capable wildlife professionals are put in charge to manage our wildlife. But they feel the power to do this because that’s how reintroducing wolves was passed. They would have done it with wolverines if I wouldn’t have put a bill in place, which is a better way to do these things.”
What initiative 91 is asking the voters to decide if it gets on the ballot
The initiative calls for banning hunting of mountain lions, bobcats and lynx.
A hunting season currently exists for mountain lions and hunting and trapping seasons exist for bobcats.
You can neither hunt nor trap lynx, which are federally protected as endangered in Colorado. Cats Aren’t Trophies included lynx on the measure because it believes the rare animals are accidentally injured or killed by hunters and trappers who mistake them for similarly-looking bobcats.
The proposed measure allows for the killing of mountain lions and bobcats if deemed a threat to human life, livestock and property.
Dylan Roberts is a Democrat member of the Colorado Senate, representing parts of 10 western counties. He was against the citizens initiative to introduce wolves but also was a sponsor of the bill to reintroduce wolverines.
“When voters from the entire state make decisions on matters that will only negatively impact a certain part of the state, we widen the rural-urban divide,” he told the Coloradoan. “I hope this question does not make it to the ballot. If it does, Colorado voters should reject it.”
Main reasons Cats Aren’t Trophies proposed banning the killing of mountain lions and bobcats
What Colorado Parks and Wildlife says about hunting mountain lions and hunting/trapping bobcats
Colorado Parks and Wildlife said it takes no position for or against proposed initiatives such as initiative 91 but does provide information regarding the recreational hunting and trapping regulations of mountain lions, bobcats and lynx; population trends and study research.
- Trophy hunting is already illegal in Colorado. Colorado law requires hunters to prepare big game, including mountain lions, for human consumption and hunters and trappers are required to present the head and hide of mountain lions and bobcats for mandatory checks. The agency told the Coloradoan it has not had a “wanton waste” citation for mountain lions in the past five years.
- The agency said the mountain lion population has grown in Colorado since 1965 when they were classified as a big game species and hunting was allowed. It said bobcat populations are stable and may be increasing in some areas.
- It said its highly regulated hunting does not negatively affect the population stability of the state’s mountain lions or bobcats and added, “Allowing lions to coexist with humans without thoughtful management has not proven successful in real-world scenarios.”
Why does Colorado allow the use of dogs to hunt mountain lions? Do other states allow the practice?
Colorado is one of 13 western states that allow mountain lion hunting, with California the lone exception.
Some states, including Wyoming, Montana, Utah, New Mexico and Idaho, allow the use of dogs or hounds. Others, including Oregon and Washington do not.
Colorado Parks and Wildlife said mountain lion hunting with hounds allows for hunters to be more selective of gender. It said the statewide annual hunting proportion of females in Colorado is generally at or under 40%, whereas states that have banned hound hunting see females making up around 60% of the animal taken during a hunting season.
Colorado Parks and Wildlife told the Coloradoan more than 90% of mountain lions killed during the hunting season is with the use of dogs. It also said prospective mountain lion hunters must complete an additional lion certification course to ensure they can properly determine sex and age of a lion.
This is what Miller said about the practice: “I have hunted myself and using packs of dogs equipped with electronic devices to tree and kill mountain lions at close range is target hunting.”
Colorado recently closed the April mountain lion hunting season and banned the use of electronic calls statewide after pressure from animal rights groups.
Mountain lion near Estes Park: Photographer captures footage of mountain lion fending off coyotes
What is the population of mountain lions, bobcats and lynx in Colorado?
Here are Colorado Parks and Wildlife population estimates:
- Mountain lions: 3,800 to 4,400, not including kittens. A recent agency study found Boulder County has one of the highest reported densities in the country.
- Bobcats: The agency doesn’t make statewide population estimates for abundant wildlife such as bobcats, which are found throughout Colorado and are the most common North American wildcat species. The agency is in the process of an ongoing bobcat research study to further estimate bobcat density.
- Lynx: 150 to 250 believed to be in Colorado. Colorado Parks and Wildlife started reintroducing lynx in 1999.
Craig, of the Wildlife Animal Sanctuary, said during the June 4 online rally that he is fearful for the future of mountain lions in Colorado.
“We are murdering these animals, and they are disappearing at an alarming rate,” he said. “Pretty soon they will be on the endangered list and eventually become extinct.”
Colorado Parks and Wildlife’s data on mountain lion population trends disagrees with Craig’s assessment: “Mountain lion populations are not biologically threatened” in Colorado and data suggests Colorado’s lion population “is strong and lions are abundant in appropriate habitat.”
Watch as mountain lion makes deer kill in Colorado backyard
This incident took place in the backyard of a foothills subdivision near Livermore, Colo., on April 28, 2024.
How many mountain lions and bobcats are killed by hunting and trapping each year in Colorado
Colorado Parks and Wildlife said its mountain lion hunting season is the shortest among states that allow hunting lions and that regulations protect kittens and females with kittens.
- Mountain lions: 505 killed on average annually in the three most recent years. Colorado Parks and Wildlife sets a quota for certain areas and if that quota is reached for hunter kills, the area is closed for the season. Colorado has sold, on average, 2,500 mountain lion licenses per year during the past three years, generating nearly $287,000 annually in revenue. Hunter success rate is around 20%. The success rate for hunters in Oregon, where use of hounds is not allowed, is around 2%. The Colorado season runs November through March.
- Bobcats: 880 killed on average annually in the three most recent years. Bobcat hunting/trapping is allowed December through February. There is no limit on how many bobcats can be killed during the three-month season.
Senior reporter Miles Blumhardt is a general assignment reporter with emphasis on trending and breaking news, wildlife, outdoors, weather and transportation. Contact him at milesblumhardt@coloradoan.com or follow him on X or Facebook.
Here are other recent stories he has written.
ColoradoAvalanche.com is the official Web site of the Colorado Avalanche. Colorado Avalanche and ColoradoAvalanche.com are trademarks of Colorado Avalanche, LLC. NHL, the NHL Shield, the word mark and image of the Stanley Cup and NHL Conference logos are registered trademarks of the National Hockey League. All NHL logos and marks and NHL team logos and marks as well as all other proprietary materials depicted herein are the property of the NHL and the respective NHL teams and may not be reproduced without the prior written consent of NHL Enterprises, L.P. Copyright © 1999-2025 Colorado Avalanche Hockey Team, Inc. and the National Hockey League. All Rights Reserved. NHL Stadium Series name and logo are trademarks of the National Hockey League.
Colorado
Colorado faces LA in first round as Kings captain Anze Kopitar embarks on final Stanley Cup chase
DENVER — Anze Kopitar wrapped up the last regular season of his storied career. The Los Angeles Kings captain wants to prolong his final playoff run for as long as possible.
Kopitar, who announced in September his plans to retire, instantly becomes a postseason rallying point for the Kings. They have a tall task ahead of them against the Colorado Avalanche, the top team in the league, with the top goal scorer in Nathan MacKinnon and one of the best defensemen in the game in Cale Makar. Game 1 is Sunday at Ball Arena, where the Avalanche are 26-9-6.
“Playoffs,” said the 38-year-old Kopitar, a two-time Stanley Cup winner with the Kings. “I’m not going to say anything can happen, but we’ll go in and we’ll play hard and we’ll see where that takes us.”
This will be the third postseason series between the two teams and the first in 24 years. Colorado won in seven games during both the 2002 conference quarterfinals and the 2001 conference semifinals.
It’s been a record season for the Presidents’ Trophy-winning Avalanche as they amassed the most points (121) in franchise history. That broke the mark set by the 2022 team, which went on to win the Stanley Cup title. MacKinnon had a career-best 53 goals.
Goaltenders Scott Wedgewood and Mackenzie Blackwood shared the net this season and surrendered a league low in goals. They earned the William M. Jennings Trophy, which is presented to the goalies who have played a minimum of 25 games — Wedgewood suited up in 45 and Blackwood 39 — for the team with the fewest goals allowed. The other goaltender to win that honor for Colorado was Hall of Famer Patrick Roy (2001-02).
“We’re in a good spot,” Colorado forward Brock Nelson said. “The mentality of this group throughout the year, right from the start of training camp, (was) set on a mission to be the best team.”
Colorado Avalanche’s Nathan MacKinnon (29) celebrates the goal against Edmonton Oilers goalie Connor Ingram (39) during shoot-out NHL action, in Edmonton on Monday, April 13, 2026. Credit: AP/JASON FRANSON
Record against each other
The Kings went 0-3 against Colorado this season and were outscored by a 13-5 margin.
“You hear the hype. They have good players,” Kings defenseman Brandt Clarke said. “We’re a scrappy team. We keep it close with everybody. That can really frustrate them.”
Leading after two
The Avalanche were 41-0-0 when leading after two periods. They’re the first squad to have a lead after two periods on 40 or more instances and capture each one, according to team research.
“Even though we’ve been smart, we’ve been committed, we’ve been relentless at times, it’s going to have to go to a whole new level now,” Avalanche coach Jared Bednar said. “I have faith in our guys.”
Los Angeles Kings’ Anze Kopitar, who is retiring after this season, acknowledges the crowd after being recognized after losing to the Vancouver Canucks during overtime NHL hockey action in Vancouver, on Tuesday, April 14, 2026. Credit: AP/DARRYL DYCK
Remember the season opener?
Six grueling months ago, the Avalanche and Kings opened the season against each other. The Avalanche won 4-1 in Los Angeles behind a pair of goals from Martin Necas, who would go on to register his first 100-point season (38 goals, 62 assists).
The two teams join an exclusive club by becoming the fifth pair since 2015-16 to open the regular season and the playoffs against each other, according to NHL Stats. The other pairs to do so were Montreal and Toronto (2020-21); Colorado and St. Louis (2020-21); St. Louis and Winnipeg (2018-19); and Los Angeles and San Jose (2015-16).
Of those teams that won the season opener only San Jose went on to win the series. It’s a trend Kopitar and the Kings wouldn’t mind joining.
Kopitar and the playoffs
Kopitar helped the Kings to the Stanley Cup title in 2011-12 and 2013-14 along with goaltender Jonathan Quick, who now is with the New York Rangers and recently said he’s retiring. Kopitar has played in 103 postseason games with 27 goals and 62 assists.
“The intensity ramps up, everything ramps up,” Kopitar said of the postseason. “Every mistake, every little play, magnifies now.”
Familiar faces
Kings goaltender Darcy Kuemper was in net for the Avalanche when they won the Stanley Cup in 2022. In addition, Kuemper and Drew Doughty were teammates with MacKinnon, Makar and Devon Toews when Canada won silver at the Milan Cortina Olympics.
Colorado
U.S. Women’s National Team Closes Three-Game Series Against Japan With Emphatic 3-0 Victory in Colorado
COMMERCE CITY, COLO. (April 17, 2026) – Naomi Girma, Rose Lavelle and Kennedy Wesley scored second-half goals to lead the U.S. Women’s National Team to a 3-0 victory over Japan in the third and final match of the series between the two sides.
Wesley recorded her first international goal and assist in her sixth cap to become the 27th player to score under U.S. head coach Emma Hayes. Girma scored her third international goal and Lavelle scored her 29th, marking her 10th goal contribution in her last 10 appearances.
Precision in the final third had been a key point of emphasis for Hayes heading into the match, and even though the USA did not score before the break, it showed flashes of what was to come in the second half, dominating 70% of possession and firing nine shots. The USWNT then broke through with three goals in the first 20 minutes of the second half to record its largest victory over Japan since 2017.
For the first time in this three-game series, the match went into halftime scoreless, but the Americans came close on several occasions. Off one of the USA’s four first half corner kicks, the most dangerous look came in the 21st minute from a Lavelle service that was headed around the box before defender Tierna Davidson nodded the ball down to Sophia Wilson, who had her back to goal. The forward chested down the ball and smashed a turnaround half-volley that forced a point blank save from Japanese goalkeeper Chika Hirao. Girma leaped up to get her head on the rebound, but her shot went over the crossbar.
In the 39th minute, Lavelle received the ball just past half field and played a long switch over to Alyssa Thompson on the left side. The forward beat her defender before playing a pass centrally to midfielder Claire Hutton at the top of the box. Her first-time shot from just outside the penalty box clanged off the crossbar and out for a goal kick. In one of the final plays before the half, forward Trinity Rodman cut inside the box and sent a cross in that deflected off defender Toko Koga, nearly causing an own goal before Hirao collected the ball.
As it did in the first match of the series, the USA came out hot to start the second half and scored almost immediately. On April 11, the USA scored 141 seconds into the half and tonight the goal came 155 seconds after the half began. The USA earned a corner kick after Wilson blasted a shot from outside the box that forced another leaping save from Hirao. Lavelle sent in service from the right corner that drifted towards Wesley at the back post. Wesley headed the cross back in front of goal for Girma, who redirected the ball with a powerful header into the back of the net. The goal was a combination of two center backs and former Stanford University teammates for Girma’s first goal since October of 2024.
Less than 10 minutes later, Wesley started the counterattack that led to the second goal. The defender picked off a pass in the USA’s defensive third and played captain Lindsey Heaps in the midfield. Heaps passed the ball forward to Rodman, who nutmegged her defender with a long pass, splitting two more Japanese players to send Lavelle in on a breakaway. Lavelle dribbled to the top of 18-yard box and then slotted a low shot into the bottom left corner with class to double the lead.
The squad kept the momentum rolling following substitutions just after the hour mark. A few minutes after entering the match, midfielder Jaedyn Shaw stepped up to take the USA’s sixth corner kick of the match. She sent a cross to the center of the box where Wesley leaped to hit a shot with the outside of her right foot, redirecting the ball through traffic and into the left side goal for the third of the night and the first of her USWNT career.
The USA held Japan scoreless for the first time in the series with goalkeeper Claudia Dickey making three saves to earn her eighth clean sheet in her 10th appearance.
Goal Scoring Rundown:
USA –NAOMI GIRMA (KENNEDY WESLEY),47th minute: Rose Lavelle lofted a corner kick from the right to the back post to Kennedy Wesley, who drifted under the ball and headed it back in front of the face of goal. Naomi Girma was in perfect position to redirect the cross with a forceful header into the back of the net at the center of the six-yard box. USA 1, JPN 0
USA – ROSE LAVELLE (TRINITY RODMAN), 56th minute: Kennedy Wesley intercepted a pass in the USA’s defensive third and played Lindsey Heaps near the center circle. Heaps played the ball forward to Trinity Rodman, who split two defenders with a pass up the field as Lavelle made a run inside. Lavelle dribbled toward the 18-yard box before slotting her shot to the bottom left corner of the goal. USA 2, JPN 0
USA – KENNEDY WESLEY (JAEDYN SHAW), 63rd minute: Jaedyn Shaw sent a corner kick toward the center of the box. Around eight yards out, Kennedy Wesley connected with the cross using the outside of her right foot, sending her shot through traffic into the back of the net. USA 3, JPN 0 FINAL
Additional Notes:
- Emma Hayes made 10 changes to the Starting XI from the last match against Japan on April 14 with Claire Hutton as the only player to start two games in a row. However, this Starting XI had only two changes from the Starting XI on April 11 in the first game against Japan. From the first match, Tierna Davidson replaced Kennedy Wesley on the back line and Hutton stepped in for midfielder Sam Coffey.
- With her cap today, Colorado native Lindsey Heaps tied Shannon MacMillan for 18th most caps in USWNT history with 176, making her one of only 19 women to reach the milestone. Heaps will return to her hometown to play professionally as a member of the NWSL’s Denver Summit upon the completion of her contract with OL Lyonnes in July.
- The other starter from Colorado was forward Sophia Wilson. The last time Wilson and Heaps played in Colorado was on June 1, 2024, vs. Korea Republic. The U.S. also won that match 4-0, which was also Hayes’ first match as head coach of the USWNT and the fourth-to-last match before of the 2024 Paris Olympics. Wilson hails from Windsor just an hour from Commerce City and Denver proper while Golden, a suburb of Denver, is Heaps’ hometown.
- Davidson earned the start, her first since Feb. 23, 2025, in a 2-1 win over Australia. In the WNT’s previous match on April 14, Davidson entered as a substitute in the 65th minute, her first appearance in more than one year following her recovery from an ACL injury she suffered in March of 2025. Tonight, she played the first 45 minutes before coming out on pre-planned sub.
- Center back Naomi Girma scored her third international goal – and all three have been headers. She scored her first two international goals on Oct. 30, 2024, against Argentina.
- Girma was assisted on her goal by fellow center back and Stanford Cardinal Kennedy Wesley, who replaced Davidson at halftime. Girma and Wesley played two full seasons together on the backline over three overlapping school years (2019-2022) as Girma took a redshirt season for her junior year (2020-21) due to injury. It was Wesley’s first international assist in her sixth career cap.
- Rose Lavelle’s goal in the 56th minute tonight was her 29th career goal and second goal of the week after recording one goal and an assist in the April 11 match against Japan. Lavelle now has 10 goal contributions in her last 10 matches for the USWNT.
- Lavelle was assisted by forward Trinity Rodman, who recorded her 11th international assist.
- Wesley scored her first international goal in the 64th minute. She is the 27th player to score a goal under head coach Emma Hayes. The center back ended her 45 minutes of play with two contributions, a goal and an assist, and was voted Woman of the Match.
- Jaedyn Shaw recorded her fifth career assist on Wesley’s goal with her service on a corner kick.
- Two of the three goals scored by the U.S. tonight came off corner kicks.
- The USWNT recorded its first clean sheet of the April window and its eighth shutout win in its last 10 matches.
- With the temperature at 38 degrees at kickoff and patches of snow pushed outside the edges of the pitch, it was the coldest WNT game since February 2022, which kicked off in Frisco, Texas.
- With the new FIFA substitution rules in effect (eight are now allowed in friendly matches), and Japan making use of a concussion sub, which gave the USA an extra substitution opportunity, the USA made its most ever substitutions in a single game over the 778 matches in program history with nine.
- Japan also made nine substitutions.
– U.S. WOMEN’S NATIONAL TEAM MATCH REPORT –
Match: United States vs. Japan
Date: April 17, 2026
Competition: International Friendly
Venue: DICK’S Sporting Goods Park, Commerce City, Colo.
Attendance: 17,589
Kickoff: 7 p.m. MT / 9 p.m. ET
Weather: 38 degrees, mostly sunny
| Scoring Summary | 1 | 2 | F |
| USA | 0 | 3 | 3 |
| JPN | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| USA — Naomi Girma (Kennedy Wesley) | 47th minute |
| USA — Rose Lavelle (Trinity Rodman) | 56 |
| USA — Kennedy Wesley (Jaedyn Shaw) | 64 |
Lineups:
USA: 1-Claudia Dickey, 23-Emily Fox, 4-Naomi Girma (5-Lilly Reale, 83), 12-Tierna Davidson (25-Kennedy Wesley, 46), 22-Gisele Thompson (3-Avery Patterson, 62), 10-Lindsey Heaps (Capt.) (17-Sam Coffey, 63), 15-Claire Hutton (7-Lily Yohannes, 82), 16-Rose Lavelle (13-Olivia Moultrie, 73), 2-Trinity Rodman (20-Michelle Cooper, 73), 11-Sophia Wilson (9-Ally Sentnor, 73), 21-Alyssa Thompson (8-Jaedyn Shaw, 63)
Substitutes not used: 6-Emily Sams, 19-Emma Sears, 24-Phallon Tullis-Joyce
Not dressing: 14-Emily Sonnett, 18-Jane Campbell
Head Coach: Emma Hayes
JPN: 12-Chika Hirao, 2- Risa Shimizu (24-Maya Hijikata, 74), 6-Toko Koga (3-Moeka Minami, 60), 4-Saki Kumagai, 13-Hikaru Kitagawa (21-Miyabi Moriya, 25), 19-Momoko Tanikawa (20-Manaka Matsukubo, 46), 16-Yuzuki Yamamoto (17-Maika Hamano, 46), 14-Yui Hasegawa (Capt.) (10-Fuka Nagano, 74), 15-Aoba Fujino (22-Remina Chiba, 74), 9-Riko Ueki (11-Mina Tanaka, 46), 7-Hinata Miyazawa (18-Honoka Hayashi, 60)
Substitutes not used: 23-Akane Okuma, 1-Ayaka Yamashita
Head Coach: Michihisa Kano
Stats Summary: USA / JPN
Shots: 15 / 5
Shots on Goal: 7 / 3
Saves: 3 / 4
Corner Kicks: 6 / 2
Fouls: 7 / 5
Offside: 0 / 2
Misconduct Summary:
None
Officials:
Ref: Myriam Marcotte (CAN)
AR1: Mijensa Rensch (SUR)
AR2: Stephanie Yee Sing (JAM)
4TH: Carly Shaw-Maclaren (CAN)
-
Delaware4 minutes ago9 Most Scenic Drives in New Jersey
-
Florida10 minutes agoSouth Florida faith leaders call for Miami mental health center to finally open
-
Georgia16 minutes ago
Georgia receiver and draft prospect Zachariah Branch arrested for misdemeanor obstruction
-
Hawaii22 minutes agoKanakaʻole, Zane ʻohana transform Hawaiian cultural practices into captivating visual arts | Maui Now
-
Idaho28 minutes ago‘Unrelenting’: Statehouse reporters recap 2026 legislative session in Idaho Falls – East Idaho News
-
Illinois34 minutes agoWeather service assessing damage across Iowa, Illinois and Missouri
-
Indiana40 minutes agoProjecting the Indiana Fever’s 2026 Starting Lineup
-
Iowa46 minutes ago5 people wounded in shooting near University of Iowa campus, including 3 students
