In the late 70's and early 80's radical animal rights organizations and hysterical urbanites spread disinformation widely about the "poor" mountain lions that were being "hunted and killed". Since, in those bygone halcyon days, the urbanites didn't see mountain lions, they swallowed the bait and voted to prevent any management (by California Fish and Game) or hunting of mountain lions. The lions increased in numbers and began to pop up everywhere. People were and are killed and maimed, pets are killed, and the more numerous mountain lions found the bighorn sheep giving birth every spring in Sierra meadows. Killing the female bighorn as she gave birth was and is a snap and the hungry lion gets both the large female and the tender lamb as it is experiencing birth. It doesn't take much of this sort of predation and pretty soon, no more sheep. Thus did the California Bighorn Sheep come to the attention of Federal Endangered Species' bureaucrats at the behest of the same radicals and extremists that got the mountain lion protected in the first place.

It was a bonanza for the radicals, extremists, and bureaucrats. The US Fish and Wildlife Service got another "charismatic mega species" to "save" (and request money and personnel for from Congress). They then expanded the Act's coverage by fabricating something called a "distinct population segment". No, not a species, not a subspecies, not a race, not even a "population" or a "distinct population"; their success with "Listing" a "distinct population segment" (essentially a few of any kind of animal on any side of any legal boundary) meant that the Feds could "List" ANYTHING they wanted anytime they wanted. The States understood this and so did the Feds' radical "partners".

Further Federal success came when the US Fish and Wildlife Service had the USDA government trappers take on the annual job of trapping and "transplanting" California mountain lions each spring to "save" the bighorn sheep. So USDA gets more people and more Federal Appropriations (that is your and my income taxes at work here) to "manage" California's mountain lions in bighorn sheep areas. Note to the naïve: they may "transplant" them or they may not. At least one State that is prohibited from managing an overpopulated and problem species Listed under the Federal Endangered Species Act is quietly "transplanting" them underground. The reason? Wolves, mountain lions, bears, alligators, and other "problem" species that are live-trapped and "transplanted" can generally get back to that "problem" area quicker than a Canada goose (that may be a bit of an exaggeration but you get the point). The real point is why are ALL OF US paying Millions for this nonsense when hunters PAY the State to do the same thing? The answer is that while the Federal government absorbs all the management authority over these animals, the States lose wildlife managers and hire ideologues in tune with Federal protectionism and State residents are left with no one to protect them and their rights.

So the radicals boast about the "balance of nature" and how you "don't need to kill" (fill in the blank). The Feds "keep an eye" on things and the Californians wonder about why hunters are even allowed in the State (and what about fishermen?).