You're right. It seems to me that #14 is actually two steps removed from #13.
First, does current hunting (which would go away) have a significant impact on mtn lion populations?
2nd, would that impact then change the potential impact of mtn lions on CWD?
There are a few published studies attempting to disentangle the potential impact of predators on CWD. Personally, I'm not sure that current hunting has a large impact on the mtn lion populations in CO.
To be clear, I wasn't speaking out in support of the hunt ban, but just trying to fill a perceived knowledge gap.
I know some folks in California where mtn lion hunting has already been banned, and it seems like not a path that we want to go down.
