Project Coyote and our allies at Feather River Action have been working to help usher Plumas and Sierra Counties into the era of modern wildlife conservation and stewardship by terminating their long-standing relationship with the rogue U.S. Department of Agriculture program misnamed “Wildlife Services.” In fact, Wildlife Services doesn’t serve wildlife—it serves ranching and agricultural interests. Between 2015 and 2019, under an approximately $70,000/year annual contract with Plumas County, Wildlife Services killed 890 wild animals including bears, beavers, mountain lions, coyotes, and badgers, with traps, snares, and other heinous killing methods. If you live in California, please speak out against this cruel program—find out more here.

* NOTE: In order to align with our preference to frame Programs and Campaigns more positively, we have renamed our Reforming Predator Management program to Carnivore Conservation & Coexistence.

When special interests attacked conservation-minded Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) Commissioner Jay Tutchton and tried to block his confirmation by the Colorado state senate, Project Coyote stepped in to defend Jay, a long-time advocate for wildlife and wild places. Thankfully, reason and conservation prevailed and Mr. Tutchton was confirmed, having originally been appointed by Governor Polis to serve as the one commission member representing conservation interests required by Colorado law. His voice is one of science and support for a speedy reintroduction of wolves to Colorado!

We are so excited to share that Maryland became the eighth state to prohibit wildlife killing contests with the passage of HB 293 / SB 200. Governor Hogan allowed the legislation to become law without his signature. Thanks to our supporters and allies in Maryland who took action for all the coyotes, foxes, and raccoons who will be saved by this momentous legislation.

On June 15, 2021, Kalamazoo County became the first government in Michigan to condemn wildlife killing contests. Dr. Lute and many Project Coyote supporters spoke in favor of this momentous resolution that asks Michigan policy-makers to ban the contests and will pave the way for more resolutions across the state.

In other good news, Michigan Representative Bill Sowerby introduced two bills, HB 5079 and HB 5078, that would require enhanced diversity on Michigan’s Wolf Management Advisory Council and the Michigan Wildlife Council by requiring input from a scientist and a non-consumptive conservation representative. Such improvements to wildlife governance will greatly increase our chances of achieving successful wildlife policies in the future!

After nearly a decade of campaigning by Project Coyote and allies, New Mexico finally passed SB 32, the Wildlife Conservation & Public Safety Act (also known as Roxy’s Law), which bans traps, snares, and poisons on New Mexico’s public lands. As National Carnivore Conservation Manager Dr. Michelle Lute stated in our coalition press release: “With this momentous legislation prohibiting traps, snares, and poisons, the Land of Enchantment has joined a class of enlightenment along with more than 80 countries and a handful of other US states. Thanks to the support of many champions for this bill from across New Mexico, wildlife management in our state is now more enlightened, science-based, and effective in protecting wildlife and healthy ecosystems.”

Incremental progress continues in Nevada as the Nevada Board of Wildlife Commissioners (NBWC) will soon discuss wildlife killing contests for a second time and may provide direction to the Nevada Department of Wildlife to consider a regulatory prohibition on contests across the state. Project Coyote’s tireless Program Associate Fauna Tomlinson and Dr. Michelle Lute joined representatives of allied wildlife and animal protection organizations and concerned Nevada citizens in favor of an end to killing contests statewide at the NBWC March 20 meeting. Dr. Lute’s testimony, along with that of other supporters, gained significant coverage in the Las Vegas Sun, Nevada Current and This is Reno. To find out more and, if you reside in NV, learn how to submit testimony for the current comment period, click here.

In disappointing news, HB 2728, a bill to end coyote killing contests in Oregon, died in committee despite hundreds of constituent calls and every attempt to secure a hearing and work session. Two Senate Democrats in the Committee on Energy and Environment took steps to ensure that the bill languished for over a month without a hearing. As a proposed compromise, SB 869 was introduced—that bill would have removed ORS 498.146, which prevents the Oregon Fish and Wildlife Commission from prescribing limitations on taking and regulating predatory animals, including coyotes and beavers. Unfortunately, that bill was also referred to the same Senate Energy and Environment Committee and thus never received a hearing. Many thanks to the Project Coyote supporters in Oregon who responded to our multiple action alerts (most recent one here) and submitted testimony in support of HB 2728. We will regroup soon to find new avenues for protecting Oregon’s wildlife from deplorable killing contests and ensuring that elected officials listen to the vast majority of Oregonians who want wildlife protected.

Progress continues in Virginia with the Virginia Board of Wildlife Resources considering a regulatory prohibition on wildlife killing contests. Project Coyote, allies within the National Coalition to End Wildlife Killing Contests, and local advocates provided testimony and submitted opinion pieces to local newspapers. To review the agency staff presentation at the May 27 Board meeting, go to page 197 here. Our hard work paid off, with the Board voting 10-1 to advance the proposed regulation to a public comment period. If you live in Virginia, please see our recent Action Alert to find out how you can speak up for your state’s wildlife before the next meeting on August 19! The regulation language is available here and you can submit your comments online before July 30, 2021, following the instructions here.

Project Coyote and allies are hard at work in Wisconsin to stop the heinous activities of predator killers by successfully passing nine-county resolutions to oppose wildlife killing contests through the Wisconsin Conservation Congress, supporting ongoing national efforts to relist wolves on the Endangered Species Act, and opposing plans to hunt Wisconsin’s wolves in the Fall. If you live in Wisconsin, look for our alerts notifying you of the next public comment period to speak up for wolves!

The new documentary film, Wildlife Killing Contests, which exposes the dark underbelly of these brutal and senseless events, continues to increase public awareness of how shockingly ubiquitous and egregiously cruel they are. As noted in the March edition of Coyote Chronicles, the film was launched in February and, in addition to providing a monumental boost to our campaign to end wildlife killing contests nationwide, was selected for inclusion in the DC Environmental Film Festival. DCEFF has since added the film to their Summer Shorts: Conservation I series, which runs from July 8-11, and it has also been submitted for consideration in additional film festivals. The related Petition to End Wildlife Killing Contests on Federal Public Lands now has over 62,000 signatures and will buttress our nationwide legislative efforts to end these events. Watch the film trailer here and read coverage of the film in The Hill and on NationalGeographic.com.

The war on wolves has returned with terrible vengeance in the guise of alarming legislation in Montana and Idaho and a proposed Fall 2021 Wisconsin wolf hunt. Montana and Idaho are slated to slaughter wolves by any means available, including traps, snares, hunting dogs, vehicles (wolf “whacking”), paid contract killers, bounties, and baiting. To counter this attack, we launched a new campaign on Endangered Species Day to reinstate federal Endangered Species Act protections for gray wolves with a Petition urging Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland to take immediate action in response to the letter signed by 115 renowned scientists, led by and including many Project Coyote Science Advisors, in Support of Reinstating Federal Protection of the Gray Wolf. Sign the petition here. We are grateful to our supporters in Idaho that spoke up for their wolves in response to our action alert. If you live in Montana, find out how you can provide testimony to protect wolves in your states here.

In April, Project Coyote—in collaboration with concerned citizens and allied wildlife advocacy organizations—initiated a national billboard campaign to bolster our efforts to end wildlife killing contests, beginning with the placement of billboards in Wisconsin. The following month, we partnered with Wyoming Wildlife Advocates to install a billboard in Cody, Wyoming. You can view images of the billboards here and here. The signs point to ProjectCoyote.org and urge viewers to sign our Petition to End Wildlife Killing Contests on Federal Public Lands. Plans are in the works for additional billboards in strategic locations across the country ~ and one of our steadfast supporters has offered to match donations up to $10,000 to support this campaign! Listen to the national radio coverage here and read more here.

New Trier (IL) High School student Benicio Becka contacted Project Coyote earlier this year to inquire whether we would be interested in collaborating with him on a webinar about wildlife killing contests as part of New Trier Educational Foundation’s Day of Service. Sarah Killingsworth graciously volunteered to take this on and did a stellar job of not only presenting the facts but also incorporating her remarkable photographs to create a compelling spoken and visual story of the animals that are cruelly and needlessly slaughtered in these events. 

Following the webinar, the students arranged visits with Illinois State Representatives Jennifer Gong and Daniel Didech to engage them in a dialogue about killing contest legislation in the state. (In February, Rep. Didech introduced HB1827, which would repeal provisions allowing the taking of bobcats by hunting or trapping.) They have also reached out to State Senator Linda Holmes and various media outlets in continued efforts to encourage legislation protecting Illinois’ wildlife. We applaud Benicio’s initiative and expect to hear more from him in the future!

Dr. Michelle Lute joined John Muir Laws for a fun and informative online workshop, Art and Conservation: Wild Canids Among Us. View the replay here.

Dr. Lute also joined distinguished Nebraska writer Kelly Madigan on July 8 for Part 3 of the three-part Coyote Writing Workshop, sponsored by Larksong Writers Place. 

Chris Mowry, Urban Coyotes (Georgia Public Broadcasting/Georgia Outdoors, Apr. 29, 2021)

Science Advisor Adrian Treves interview:
Wolves and Implementing Gold Standards of Evidence for Coexistence (BeProvided Conservation Radio podcast, May 7, 2021)

Science Advisors Adrian Treves and Francisco Santiago-Ávila publication:
Treves A, Santiago-Ávila FJ, Putrevu K. 2021. Quantifying the effects of delisting wolves after the first state began lethal management. PeerJ 9:e11666 DOI 10.7717/peerj.11666