Nancy S. Ledbetter
Director of Communications
Arkansas Game and Fish Commission
2 Natural Resources Drive
Little Rock, Arkansas 72205
[mailed at 6:10 a.m. on 08/06/2003]

Ms. Ledbetter,

As a resident of rural north central Arkansas, I would appreciate for my safety and that of my family, a clarification of the mountain lion position statement. Am I to conclude from this statement that: there are NO mountain lions of which there are some? Or, is it that: there are SOME mountain lions of which there are none?

I'm not nearly as concerned about "endangered Florida panthers" as I am about endangered Searcy County residents, namely me, my family and our beloved neighbors. If any of my family were attacked, savagely torn apart and killed by a large cat, as recently happened to one of my neighbors, we're not going to care if it's a puma concolor coryi or a pussypuss humongous. Nor will we be concerned with whether or not it came from a breeding population.

There has been much controversy regarding the cause of the tragic death of our neighbor. One thing I know for sure is that not one bit of it that I've heard has had to do with what kind of large cat is responsible. Not once have I heard the term "breeding population." The controversy is over whether she was killed by a large cat or by some other means.

I just checked Webster's definition of "game." Any cat that may have killed our neighbor does not meet any of the definitions of the word. One might argue then, that A.G. & F.C. has nothing to do with this matter. I only know I was disappointed by your ambiguous position statement. My question now is, does A.G. & F.C. have or hold a position on what caused the death of my neighbor?

Thanks for your consideration.

Dave Foley
Gilbert, Arkansas