Mountain Lions Not a Threat

I would like to put a little perspective from a personal observation into this tremendous problem with mountain lions.

I’m a 71-year-old backpacker, and in the last 22 years I have walked every trail and camped in every camp in Los Padres National Forest. There are very few areas in the Sierra Nevada that I haven’t walked through and camped in. I backpack at least 10 times a year for three to 12 days each trip and have logged more than 6,150 miles. I have seen 1 (ONE) mountain lion at a distance of about 300 yards--and he was high-tailing it for the nearest ridge, putting distance between him and me.

I hope Proposition 197 goes down to the resounding defeat it deserves.

WALTER W. CHOATE

Camarillo