SAM’s Coyote Control Plan April, 2011
A PLAN FOR INTEGRATED COYOTE CONTROL IN MAINE
Sportsman’s Alliance of Maine
Augusta, Maine
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.
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
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.
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” deer-killing 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 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 pre-emptive 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.
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.
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.