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HomeMy WebLinkAboutAgenda: Study Session A: Review of Coyote Management Program Vti4 _FFO R 11 63p m h7 10 locoep . tl �uryrt S, It993 CO a / `4 Yof� STAFF REPORT Office of the City Manager DATE: January 18, 2011 TO: Mayor and City Council FROM: Donald Penman, City Manager' By: Linda Garcia, Communications, Marketing and Special Projects Manager SUBJECT: REVIEW OF COYOTE MANAGEMENT PROGRAM Recommendation: Provide direction SUMMARY At the January 4, 2011 City Council meeting, staff was directed to place the City's Coyote Management Program on the next agenda for review and discussion. This report provides the information requested and seeks Council direction as to how to proceed. BACKGROUND In the summer of 2010 the City Council received a significant number of complaints from Arcadia residents about bold and aggressive coyotes that were coming into yards, attacking and killing pets, and otherwise interfering with their quality of life. In addition to the reports about injured and killed pets, residents continually commented about the bold nature of the animals and how they were not responding to traditional hazing techniques such as making loud noises, opening an umbrella in the animal's direction, etc. Because of the concerns raised by residents, and at their request, the City Council directed the reinstatement of a coyote management/abatement program. The Council did this with the understanding that such a program would be temporary and an attempt to deal with the immediate problem /threat. The Council further recognized that being a foothill city, it is important that the community be aware that there is wildlife living in the area and take steps to minimize negative interaction with all wildlife, including coyotes. Toward that end the City stepped up its ongoing efforts to educate the public about the need to co -exist with wildlife and went so far as to send a coyote- specific mailing to every Arcadia postal customer, 24,634 in all. The hope was that the problem of Mayor and City Council — review of Coyote Management Program January 18, 2011 Page 2 aggressive coyotes in residential neighborhoods would be alleviated through a combination of trapping to deal with the immediate threat and enhanced education to facilitate the Tong -term solution, which is to reduce food sources and access. DISCUSSION In response to concerns from residents about the proliferation of aggressive coyotes in residential neighborhoods, in August of 2010 the City Council reinstated a coyote management program using the firm Animal Pest Management (APM). Between August and December of last year, 20 coyotes were captured: August 5 September 6 October 4 November 3 December 2 While calls about coyote sightings and /or requesting assistance continue to come in to the City and to APM, the number (to APM) has decreased from a high of 20 calls per week to 5 to 6 calls a week in December. The number of calls and e-mails to the City has also decreased, although that could be attributed to the fact that residents have been instructed to contact APM directly to report aggressive coyotes. As noted above, the number of coyotes caught in November and December was lower than previous months. Staff asked APM if they felt this could be attributed to anything in particular and their response was that it is likely a combination of the colder and wetter weather, as well as the fact that people tend to keep their pets indoors more often in tougher weather and there is less chance for incidents to occur. It may also be that the lower numbers are possibly a reflection of the abatement efforts that have already taken place (although those who oppose trapping in any form or for any time period of time would likely not agree with this school of thought). FISCAL IMPACT The cost of trapping is $2,500 per ten -day session and the City Council appropriated $30,000 in order to allow for twelve ten -day sessions. To date, $12,500 has been expended on the program (not including January 2011). Should the City Council decide to stop the program, the remaining money that was appropriated in August 2010 would be returned to the General Fund Reserve. The City's contract with APM may be canceled at any time with 30 -days notice. RECOMMENDATION It is recommended that the City Council provide direction relative to continuing or stopping the current coyote management program.