SAM’s Coyote Control Plan
April, 2011
A PLAN FOR INTEGRATED COYOTE CONTROL IN MAINE
Sportsman’s Alliance of Maine
Augusta, Maine
April, 2011
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SAM’s Coyote Control Plan
April, 2011
Executive Summary
Deer populations in Maine are unacceptably low and in need of
restoration. Among several causative factors, predation by coyotes ranks
high in importance, particularly in the northern half of the state. We propose
a coyote control program that integrates the participation of hunters,
trappers, hunting-based businesses and organizations, landowners, and the
Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife.
Coyote control will be biologically based, and will be accomplished
by both recreational hunters and trappers, and paid (and volunteer) Animal
Damage Control (ADC) agents. Coyotes will be taken using foothold traps
by licensed trappers, or by hunters employing baiting, calling, hounds, or
incidental encounters. Control efforts will focus on coyote removal at the
landscape level in an effort to reduce pre-winter coyote density statewide.
This will be followed by targeted removal of coyotes in and near important
deer wintering areas located in the northern half of the state. Control efforts
may also be applied in fawning areas during the spring.
The role expected of various participants in this effort is discussed.
Legislative changes that may enhance the effectiveness of coyote control
efforts are identified.
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SAM’s Coyote Control Plan
April, 2011
Table of Contents
Page
Executive Summary …………………………………………………………………. 2
Table of Contents ……………………………………………………………………. 3
Introduction ………………………………………………………………………….. 4
Coyote Biology ………………………………………………………………………. 5
Coyote Control Model ………………………………………………………………... 6
Key Participants and Their Role ……………………………………………………… 7
Hunters and Trappers …………………………………………………………. 7
Guides and Outfitters …………………………………………………………. 8
Landowners …………………………………………………………………… 8
Public Outreach ………………………………………………………………
8
Outdoors and Sporting Organizations ………………………………………..
8
Coyote Contests ……………………………………………………………… 9
DIFWs Role …………………………………………………………………. 9
Legislative Needs …………………………………………………………….. 10
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SAM’s Coyote Control Plan
April, 2011
Introduction
White-tailed deer have long been a mainstay for hunters and non-hunters alike.
Deer hunting annually attracts more than 150,000 participants, who collectively support a
hunting-based economy worth more than $200 million throughout the state.
Unfortunately, deer populations are currently far below their optimum abundance in most
parts of Maine. In northern, eastern, and western Maine, deer populations are critically
low, existing at densities only 1/10 of what they were 30 or 40 years ago. Low deer
populations limit hunter satisfaction and deprive local economies of much-needed
revenue, and in some northern areas deer are in danger of disappearing entirely.
Several inter-related factors are responsible for recent and long-term deer herd
declines in Maine deer. Human-caused mortality (e.g., hunting, poaching, road-kills, etc.)
affects deer survival to varying degrees. A progressive decline in the quality and quantity
of wintering habitat since the 1970s has greatly reduced the overall carrying capacity of
northern, eastern, and western Maine for deer. Predation, primarily by eastern coyotes
and black bears, reduces survival of adult deer and young fawns. Severe winters result in
higher deer losses to malnutrition and predation whenever they occur. Winter severity
effects are exacerbated in low-quality wintering habitat, and in the presence of high
predator populations. Severe winters are the norm in much of eastern, western, and
northern Maine. Central and southern Maine deer populations can also experience the
ravages of severe winters, most recently during 2008 and 2009. In the northern half of
the state, excessive predation is currently limiting deer populations, even where adequate
wintering habitat remains available to deer. Recovery of deer populations in this part of
the state will require a significant and prolonged reduction of coyote predation.
As the state agency responsible for the management of white-tailed deer, the
Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife (DIFW) has recently acknowledged the need
for coyote control, as well as a renewed willingness to commit agency personnel and
financial resources to this effort. DIFW has also expressed a willingness to partner with
interested hunters and trappers who want to participate in coyote control activities.
Meaningful coyote control in Maine is a daunting task, given the state’s size, its forested
nature, and the adaptability of coyotes. However, this should not deter us from trying.
Relying solely upon a state government program to achieve coyote control has
limited chance for success, given limited financial and personnel resources. But
government does not have to do it all. Maine has 150,000 deer hunters, each with a
vested interest in the welfare of our deer resource. More and more deer hunters are
beginning to realize that the quality of their hunting experience depends on their active
participation in deer management. Interest in coyote hunting is growing. If only 3,000 of
our deer hunters also become avid coyote hunters, they, the Department, and trappers can
successfully partner to achieve coyote control. This plan describes how hunting and
trapping in Maine can lead to reduced deer losses to coyote predation, and ultimately to
recovery of our deer population. A key element of this plan is the fact that hunting and
trapping efforts are timed to take advantage of the unique biology (and limitations) of the
eastern coyote.
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SAM’s Coyote Control Plan
April, 2011
Coyote Biology
Having interbred with gray wolves when migrating east, our coyotes acquired
some wolf-like physical and behavioral characteristics. For example, eastern coyotes are
larger than their western counterparts, which enables them to more effectively take down
deer-size prey. Older, larger, more experienced coyotes become quite adept at killing
deer. Maintaining high mortality in coyote populations reduces average age and reduces
the number of older, experienced individuals. This may lead to lower incidences of
predation on deer.
Eastern coyotes form pair bonds during the February breeding season. Pairs
remain together for years. Born in April, their offspring form the nucleus of coyote
packs. Like wolves, eastern coyotes exhibit delayed dispersal, with about half or more of
the pups remaining with the pack for most of the winter. Solitary coyotes generally have
difficulty in killing deer, but multiple coyotes hunting together readily do so. Since
killing efficiency increases in direct proportion to pack size, reduction in pack size prior
to midwinter may reduce the ability of surviving pack members to kill deer.
Because coyote packs form primarily during the February to April
breeding/birthing period, removal of the pack from an area any time after early March
will result in vacant territories until pair bonding occurs the ensuing February.
Dispersing solitary coyotes vying for vacant coyote territories are not likely to kill as
many deer as do mated pairs and intact packs.
Like wolves, and unlike western coyotes, young of the year eastern coyotes do not
often breed during their first year. This fact limits the ability of eastern coyotes to
quickly replace annual losses. Juvenile female coyotes need to attain sufficient body size
and condition to come into breeding condition by February. Food becomes increasingly
difficult to acquire as snows deepen in December and January. Deprived of the predation
advantages of hunting in a pack, juvenile female coyotes are less likely to reach breeding
condition than their pack-living counterparts. Hence, disruption and reduction of coyote
pack size prior to late December may prevent the compensatory increase in reproductive
rates thought to occur among coyotes following control efforts.
Eventually, most young coyotes disperse from their home pack in an effort to find
a vacant territory in which to establish their own pack. Dispersing coyotes travel widely,
averaging 60 or more miles from their natal territory before settling down. Reduction of
coyote density in central and southern Maine may reduce the number of coyotes available
to disperse into eastern, western, and northern Maine.
It is commonly believed that some coyotes prey extensively on deer during
winter, while others concentrate on smaller prey like snowshoe hare and mice.
Consequently, previous control efforts focused on targeting only the “offending” deerkilling coyotes. This clean-cut distinction probably does not exist among coyotes
inhabiting eastern, western, and northern Maine. Studies show that white-tailed deer
comprises at least 80% of the winter diet of all Maine coyotes. Hare become increasingly
difficult to kill in deep, soft snow. In much of eastern and northern Maine, coyotes are
probably “obligate” deer predators, i.e., they cannot thrive in deep snow without deer.
Because most coyotes rely on deer for their winter sustenance, it would be more
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SAM’s Coyote Control Plan
April, 2011
productive to reduce coyote density over the entire landscape, rather than solely targeting
supposed “offending” coyotes in deer yards.
Coyotes establish and defend territories averaging 10 to 15 sq. mi. in Maine.
Reduction of coyote density in one of these territories may temporarily improve deer
survival over areas amounting to 6,000 to 10,000 acres. Large scale control depends on
impacting coyote density in as many individual coyote territories as possible. Lower
coyote densities may be attained for prolonged periods of time, if coyote territories are
repeatedly disrupted over a wide area.
Some biologists believe that an individual pack of coyotes is capable of defending
a large wintering area (> 1,000 acres) from incursions of solitary individuals or adjacent
packs. They assume that the excluded coyotes are able to thrive on hare and other small
prey in deep, soft snow. This doesn’t square with the fact that venison comprises 80% of
all coyote diets during winter. More likely, several coyote packs migrate to the vicinity
of large deer yards along with the deer. In doing so, coyote territoriality breaks down, or
they partition the deer yard into several smaller territories, a phenomenon that has been
observed among grey wolves in southern Ontario. To effect coyote control where deer
migrate long distances to wintering habitat, we need to begin coyote control prior to deer
migration, then follow up as needed near large wintering areas during early winter.
Natural losses occur in any population of coyotes, most prominently among pups.
Neonatal losses, disease, and accidents, including vehicle collisions, can amount to 20%
or more of eastern coyote populations. A well-timed control effort seeks to add to these
natural losses, rather than merely replacing them. From late gestation (mid-March)
through June, a significant proportion of adult coyote taken by hunting and/or trapping
would be pregnant or lactating females, or adults provisioning dens. Their removal at
this time would greatly limit survival of the litter, which in turn would reduce both coyote
density, and predation on fawn deer.
Coyote Control Model
Eastern coyotes are well established among Maine’s fauna. They are an
important component in all ecosystems, and they are a valued furbearer. We do not
intend to eliminate coyotes from Maine -- a feat that would be impossible to accomplish.
Rather, we seek to manage for lower autumn and winter coyote populations, to levels that
improve survival of white-tailed deer.
Our strategy is to use a landscape approach to coyote control in an effort to
diminish the number and size of coyote packs, reduce the overall number of coyotes
available to prey on deer during winter, and to eventually reduce the availability of older,
more experienced coyotes in the population. This approach to coyote control is preemptive in that coyote densities are reduced prior to winter. This strategy stands in sharp
contrast to the current practice of trying to remove coyotes in late winter, after the
majority of deer have already been killed.
Most coyote removals should take place between September and January annually
throughout the state. More targeted coyote removals will occur in and near deer
wintering areas during winter, primarily in the northern half of the state. Coyote
removals will also be encouraged during spring, coincident with the denning period.
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SAM’s Coyote Control Plan
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We anticipate that most coyotes will be killed by hunters using baiting, calling,
hound hunting, and chance encounters. Coyote hunting is challenging and potentially
rewarding. We have noted greatly increased interest in coyote hunting during recent
years. Yet, there is a great need for skills development and acquired experience among
coyote hunting enthusiasts. We intend to foster development of coyote hunting as an
industry that not only provides ample hunting opportunity, but also leads to effective
coyote control while contributing to Maine’s hunting-based economy.
Trapping has long been the primary means of coyote removal in Maine. We
anticipate that regulated trapping will remain an important tool for accomplishing coyote
control. In this plan, we encourage coyote trapping during the regular fall trapping
season throughout Maine. In addition, we also recommend that DIFW deploy qualified
trappers hired as paid (or volunteer) Animal Damage Control agents to remove coyotes
from the vicinity of selected deer wintering areas during fall. ADC agents could also be
deployed by DIFW during spring in the vicinity of known fawning areas in the northern
half of Maine.
Based on preliminary (and very crude) estimates of coyote abundance in Maine,
we need to remove an additional 4,000 or 5,000 coyotes to accomplish effective control
at the statewide level. Currently about 2,000 coyotes are registered by trappers and some
hunters annually. Doubling or tripling current levels of coyote exploitation may seem
daunting, but it is feasible. If just 3,000 additional hunters can kill only two coyotes
each, then we could achieve the coyote control needed to improve deer survival.
However, one should not get caught up in the numbers game. The measure of success of
this control effort is not how many coyotes are counted as killed, but rather how our deer
respond to our coyote control efforts. That response should be evident in more deer
sightings, and higher deer harvests, as time goes on.
Key Participants and Their Role
To be successful, we need widespread participation and support among trappers,
hunters, guides and outfitters, landowners, outdoors organizations and businesses, DIFW,
the Legislature, and the public. Each has a stake in successful recovery of deer
populations, and each has an important role to play in the control effort.
Trappers and Hunters
Trappers and hunters will provide all of the labor involved in removing coyotes.
Their effort will be almost entirely voluntary. In most cases, their expenditures will be
offset only by the monetary value of the pelt, and the intangible value of the hunting or
trapping experience. It will be difficult to maintain hunter/trapper interest in this effort
over time. And it will be a challenge to distribute hunting and trapping effort in the more
remote reaches of eastern, northern, and western Maine. Coyote hunters and trappers
deserve recognition and our appreciation for their efforts. We should find cost-effective
ways to help maintain hunter and trapper interest in coyote removal.
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SAM’s Coyote Control Plan
April, 2011
Guides and Outfitters
Guides’ and outfitters’ livelihoods are dependent on the abundance of game in
their area. Hence, these business owners have a vested interest in the recovery and
maintenance of viable deer populations. And they are well positioned to attract willing
coyote hunters and trappers. By attracting and deploying clientele within their traditional
hunting areas, guides and outfitters can potentially manage for higher deer populations
while also generating some income from their coyote hunts. Probability of success for
this strategy would be enhanced if guides and outfitters included coyote control in deer
wintering areas in their hunting areas.
Landowners
With 94% of Maine in private ownership, our hunting and trapping privileges
depend on positive relationships with landowners. We need to persuade landowners of
the need for allowing hunting and trapping access for coyote control. Maine trappers
have practiced good landowner relations for years. However, coyote hunters are new to
the hunting scene, and hence we need to find what practices are acceptable to
landowners, and abide by them. Respecting landowners’ wishes and thanking them for
the privilege of using their property is a good start.
Laws regulating the placement of bait for coyote hunting are necessary for the
protection of landowner rights. Each legislative session, these laws seem to undergo one
modification or another. However, we need to strike a balance to ensure that bait
placement laws don’t become so restrictive that they preclude coyote hunting entirely.
Public Outreach
The support of the non-hunting public is critical to our continued participation in
hunting and trapping in Maine. Many non-hunters are aware of coyotes and their
interactions with man. It is important for us to keep the public informed about the need
for coyote control, provide accurate information on control activities, and most
importantly, behave in a way that engenders their trust and support.
Outdoors and Sporting Organizations
Outdoors organizations can play a pivotal role in educating, motivating, and
organizing coyote hunters and their activities. Some organizations, such as The
Sportsman’s Alliance of Maine (SAM), the Washington County Conservation
Association, the Aroostook County Conservation Association, and Whitetails Unlimited
of Central Maine are already focusing on promoting coyote hunting. But more
networking can be accomplished. There are scores of fish and game clubs, snowmobile
clubs, and ATV clubs scattered throughout Maine. Their direct and indirect involvement
in participating in coyote hunting would greatly help in distributing coyote hunting
pressure where it is needed most.
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SAM’s Coyote Control Plan
April, 2011
Coyote Contests
Some of the above-mentioned organizations, along with several businesses, hold
coyote contests or derbies. These contests typically involve registration of participants
who compete for prizes for the coyotes they kill. Derbies are privately funded, with
money and/or prizes being provided by the participants themselves, and by business
donations. Derbies are a great way to generate coyote hunting effort and interest at no
cost to government or the public. Coyote contests should receive our encouragement, not
our criticism. The effectiveness of coyote derbies could be improved by holding the
contest earlier in the fall, and they should extend into late winter or spring. In addition,
both hunter participation and the number of coyotes killed may increase if prizes were
awarded by chance lottery, with each coyote killed increasing the number of chances to
win for each participant. Contests that award prizes based solely on the largest individual
coyote, or the most coyotes killed, tend to discourage beginning hunters, or those with
access to few available coyotes.
DIFW’s Role
DIFW has several important roles to perform in this coyote control effort. The
Department is mandated by law to implement a coyote control program, but DIFW has
not implemented one since the suspension of its coyote snaring program in 2003. We
recommend that DIFW re-instate its Animal Damage Control (ADC) program by
identifying and training a team of ADC agents who are proficient in the use of foothold
traps, and/or hunting coyotes using bait, calling, and hounds. As ADC program funds
become available, the Department will reimburse ADC agents per Department policy.
DIFW’s coyote control program will focus on pre-emptive and in-winter removal
of coyotes in and near important deer wintering areas, by paid ADC agents and
volunteers. Department biologists within eastern, western, and northern Maine will be
responsible for identification of key deer wintering areas (DWAs) in their region. Using
what may be termed an “Adopt a DWA” program, biologists will assign responsibility for
annual coyote control among available ADC agents and volunteers. Once assigned to a
particular DWA, each ADC agent or volunteer will be responsible for coyote removal
using their particular method(s) as per Department policy. Trappers will be expected to
remove coyotes during the early canid and regular trapping seasons. Agents and
volunteers using baits, calling, and dogs will be expected to engage in coyote removal
during autumn and early winter, in addition to times when deer are actively being killed.
ADC trappers may also be deployed to remove coyotes from deer fawning habitat
in eastern, western and northern Maine, as locations are identified.
Note that the coyote control program outlined above is not triggered by finding
that deer are being killed in one place or another. It is also not triggered only when a
certain snow depth threshold is reached. Rather, it is a recognition that deer in eastern,
western, and northern Maine experience losses to coyote predation every winter. Hence,
the focus is on reducing coyote density in key DWAs before predation becomes
excessive.
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SAM’s Coyote Control Plan
April, 2011
The success of DIFW’s coyote control program will depend on the support it
receives at all levels within the agency, from field biologists and wardens to
administrators and the Commissioner’s office. DIFW is also encouraged to provide
support to other organizations, and the hunting public who engage in coyote hunting.
This support also extends to advocacy for coyote control efforts when our hunting
and trapping privileges are threatened in the Legislature or in the courts.
After the Canada lynx was federally listed as threatened, the Department
suspended the use of neck snares for use by ADC agents (2003), and later agreed to
foothold trap restrictions in designated lynx habitat (2008). Both concessions limit our
ability to capture coyotes in most of eastern, western, and northern Maine. We urge the
Department to resolve whether the USFWS is willing to issue an Incidental Take Permit
(ITP) that would restore our ability to snare and trap coyotes as soon as possible. If an
Incidental Take Permit is not forthcoming, then we recommend that DIFW explore other
legal options without further delay.
Legislative Needs
The Maine Legislature has been very supportive of the need to control coyote
populations over the years. As hunters, we thank them for that support. Maine enjoys
very liberal hunting and trapping opportunities for eastern coyotes. Nevertheless, there
remain a few laws or regulations that the Legislature may consider which would improve
coyote hunting efforts.
The first change involves the night hunting season on coyote, which currently
spans December 16 to August 31 annually. Night hunting is proving to be a very
effective means of taking coyote, particularly for coyotes that have become “bait shy”.
With our focus on taking coyote during fall and early winter, it would be highly desirable
to be able to hunt coyote at night during the autumn months as well. We appreciate the
concerns that game wardens would have in trying to discriminate between the gunshots
of illegal deer hunters vs. those of legal coyote hunters. To address this concern, we offer
the following comprise. Establish a separate night hunting permit for September 1 to
December 15. This permit would be issued only to individuals, certified ADC agents,
and registered Maine guides who have no convictions for fish and wildlife violations.
Each permit holder must notify their local warden of their hunting location prior to the
start of night hunting operations. Clients may be covered by the guide’s coyote hunting
permit.
The second legislative change involves the use of crossbows. Modern crossbows
are effective hunting implements that may be useful on coyotes at short range. They are
discrete and quiet; crossbows may prove effective near residential areas where gunshots
would cause undue disturbance. We recommend that the Legislature authorize the use of
crossbows for coyote hunting during any open season on coyote.
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SAM’s Coyote Control Plan
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The final change involves tagging requirements for coyote. Currently, coyote
trappers and hunters must register with DIFW and tag any coyote that is to be sold, given
away, or modified by taxidermy. The tagging fee is 25 cents. Some DIFW officials and
not all tagging stations are available to tag coyote. The tagging requirement is
inconvenient for both hunters and trappers and tagging agents. Because not all coyotes
are tagged, the data is of little use to DIFW, and it does not lead to coyote management
decisions by the Department. We recommend that coyote be exempt from tagging, as is
the case for many other furbearers, including muskrat, raccoon, ermine, skunk, etc.
Prepared by: Gerry Lavigne, Wildlife Biologist
For the Sportsman’s Alliance of Maine
April, 2011
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