LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Nebraska’s longest-serving senator is once again trying to outlaw mountain lion hunting, describing the animals as majestic and no threat to humans.

Sen. Ernie Chambers of Omaha argued in a committee hearing Thursday that lawmakers never should have approved a hunting season in 2012, when Chambers was out of office.

Mountain lions are native to Nebraska, but vanished in the late 1800s after settlers started poisoning and hunting them. Nebraska has four areas where mountain lion hunting is permitted. The Nebraska Game and Parks Commission determines which areas can sustain hunting each session.

State officials have estimated that Nebraska has somewhere between 15 and 22 mountain lions.

Opponents of the bill say the hunting season allows officials to regulate the population.