As a culmination of our ongoing fight to end wildlife killing contests, raise awareness via our growing coalition of partners and monumental film-making collaboration, U.S. Representative Steve Cohen (D – Tenn.) and 18 of his colleagues introduced legislation to ban killing contests on federal public lands in April. The introduction of H.R. 7398, the Prohibit Wildlife Killing Contests Act of 2022, is an unprecedented opportunity to take our mission to end wildlife killing contests to the national stage. Let’s change the narrative together: if you haven’t already, contact your U.S. Representative to co-sponsor and support this bill today! Then read Kim Frank’s new feature piece “Blood Sport” about killing contests in Earth Island Journal and “How Killing Wildlife Became a Game” in National Geographic.

Project Coyote Science Advisor Dave Parsons received One Earth’s prestigious Environmental Hero Award for his tremendous contributions over his three-decade career in wolf conservation and protection. Learn more about why Dave is so very deserving of this recognition and continue reading below for more of Dave’s recent contributions to this field throughout this edition of Coyote Chronicles.

Project Coyote has been working to provide our supporters with updates on all that’s happening with lobos of the Southwest. We provided extensive comments to USFWS’s revised Mexican gray wolf recovery plan and mobilized our supporters to comment, providing talking points on how to implement the best available science to guide species’ recovery. Over 49,000 comments were submitted. The revised plan yet again failed to address the critical threat of human-caused mortality which is responsible for 70% of Mexican wolf deaths. Directly following the close of the comment period for the recovery plan, the USFWS released their draft decision on the new Mexican gray wolf 10(j) management rule, which comes in response to another court order. We also advocated for the protection of the Seco Creek pack, a genetically valuable wolf pack residing in Gila National Forest that is currently under threat. Lastly, we mobilized our supporters to take action in response to an investigative report published in The Intercept which uncovers systemic fraud and corruption by the federal USDA Wildlife Services program. We directed our supporters to place calls to the Inspector General’s office asking for a full investigation of the Wildlife Services offices in New Mexico and Arizona. Stay tuned for more actions as we continue advocating for the lobos of the Southwest.

We also advocated for Mexican gray wolves by alerting Arizona supporters to oppose H.B. 2181, which liberalizes the killing of lobos. The bill blocks the Arizona Game and Fish Commission from prohibiting a person from killing a wolf if they claim they feel threatened or if their livestock or pets are threatened. The bill is both unnecessary and falls outside of state authority given that these wolves are federally protected under the ESA. Wolves rarely attack humans and people already have the ability to protect themselves, their livestock and property. Management authority lies with federal officials, not state officials. Unfortunately, the Arizona legislature voted to pass the bill as a result of pressure from anti-wolf forces. We continue advocating for lobos by exploring options to counter this terrible legislation and pressing for stricter federal protections everywhere lobos roam.

The plight of California’s black bears continues. Despite drought, wildfires and vehicle collisions threatening bears across the state, the California Fish and Game Commission denied a Humane Society of the United States’ petition to enact a moratorium on hunting. We alerted supporters, provided substantial comments and worked in coalition with HSUS and Bear League to support their petition. We will continue this collaboration as we oppose another recent petition to increase available bear tags per hunter and a forthcoming bear management plan.

We partnered with and encouraged Wisconsin animal advocates to get involved in the Wisconsin Conservation Congress by submitting citizen resolutions and voting in the WCC Spring Hearing. Our efforts contributed to more than doubling participation in the WCC Spring Hearing relative to last year. More importantly, voting showed a notable shift toward more ethical and ecological practices. State-level wins included the approval of a resolution for the creation of a regulation process for hunting contests. Many citizen resolutions passed in several counties, such as: banning chocolate bear bait, reducing the hound training season pursuing the black bear, eliminating compensation for hound owners, banning wolf hounding and ending killing contests in WI. If you are a Wisconsin advocate, stay tuned for more information and check out this webinar to find out more about the WCC results and next steps for advocates.

The need for focused attention on rewilding and coexistence in the Midwest brought three organizations together: Project Coyote, The Rewilding Institute, and The Half-Earth Project. This partnership was collectively known as Big River Connectivity, but is now called Heartland Rewilding, a new collaboration focused on reconnecting, rewilding, and coexisting within the Mississippi River Watershed. 

Project Coyote is working to partner with the City of Des Moines, Iowa to create a proactive Coyote Friendly Communities plan. The goal of this non-lethal wildlife coexistence plan is to provide city officials with a framework for promoting coexistence and resolving any conflict in a manner that is safe for people and wildlife. Such a plan currently has the support of Animal Rescue League of Iowa, the Des Moines Police Department and City Parks, Iowa Department of Natural Resources and other local leaders. Kelly Borgmann, Midwest Coexistence Coordinator, will be presenting the proposal to Des Moines City Council this summer.  

As we enter into summer, coyotes emerge from their dens and become more active. Every spring, we receive increased calls and inquiries related to coyotes, and communities seeking assistance in promoting peaceful coexistence between humans and wildlife. As part of our Coyote Friendly Communities program, Project Coyote continues to expand into new communities across the country. We provided public presentations to communities in Mission Hills, Los Angeles, and Canyon, California with live Q&A sessions. We also provided our science-based resources to communities to raise public awareness about how to peacefully coexist with wildlife. We continue to assist the Lake Highlands community in Dallas, Texas after a tragic coyote attack by providing community advocates with educational resources on coexistence and best practices to inform a coyote management plan.

Our team recently provided the following community events to spread awareness and education on how to better coexist with coyotes.

• March 13 Coyote coexistence presentation by Chris Schadler at the Waterbury Library presentation in Waterbury, Vermont
• May 14 Coyote hazing demonstrations by John Maguranis at the Art, Nature, Nahant festival in Nahant, Massachusetts
• May 21 Coyote coexistence booth with Dan Devries at the Haight Ashbury community event in San Francisco, California

Upcoming events

• June 30: “Our Coyote Neighbors” presentation by John Maguranis at the Hopkinton Public Library, Hopkinton, Massachusetts

Sometimes coexistence takes a whole village. When local advocate, Ben Nuckolls, contacted Sierra Nevada Representative Fauna Tomlinson about a hobby farmer adopting pygmy goats only to find a mama coyote denning within the newly erected enclosure, the whole Project Coyote family pitched in to help. While Fauna sent Foxlights (i.e., visual predator deterrents), Dr. Michelle Lute, Ranching with Wildlife Coordinator Keli Hendricks and Program Associate Erin Hauge advised local advocates and the farmer on best practices to keep goats and coyotes safe.