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Coyote:
Part II
Editor's Note: This is the second and final
part in a two-column series relating to the Eastern Coyote's
presence in Maine.
Despite a year around open season on coyotes,
most sportsmen who pursue the state's largest wild dog do so during
the winter months. There are several sporting methods to take
coyotes in Maine; over bait, coursing with hounds, trapping and my
favorite--predator calling. All of them offer a thrilling
experience, with some Maine outfitters offering guided 'yote hunts
that add to their off-season bank accounts.
Just a few decades ago black bear were
considered vermin in this state, to be shot on sight, with a bounty
on bruins' heads, and every effort was made to exterminate
them. Far-sighted sportsmen and biologists, who
unconventionally advocated protection and game animal status at the
time, are now vindicated. Hunters, their guides and the
state's economy now benefit from attitudes changed by vision and
biological facts. The coyote is having trouble following in
those ursine footsteps for one reason: their winter predation of the
whitetail deer.
Unlike their western cousins, who usually
feed solo or in pairs, the Eastern coyote hunts in tight-knit family
units like wolves, with whom they are thought to have bred with
during their eastern migration through Canada to Maine. Their
bigger bodies require more sustenance, making them even more capable
of preying on big game animals. There is one method of control
that has a localized impact on coyote numbers--winter coyote
snaring.
In the 1980s Maine's legislature directed the Commissioner of MDIFW
to develop and implement procedures that would allow snarers to
protect vital whitetail wintering areas. Obviously, this
decision did not come without controversy, considering the manner of
death. This past winter I set out to discover how snaring
works by accompanying Jerry McLaughlin, a state certified snarer and
snare instructor who resides in New Sweden.
Jerry guided me to one of his snaring locations after showing me
around his home classroom and giving me an encapsulated equipment
demonstration. We drove to a remote location in Blackstone
Siding where he had a road-kill moose set up as bait. I
thought he'd be taking me into a deer yard, but instead we snowshoed
into a gravel pit away from the nearby deer wintering area. I
asked him why.
"There are two reasons we avoid the
deeryards. Our primary intent is to lure the coyotes away from
the deer, and secondly this way deer won't accidentally get
caught. This all but eliminates the possibility of latching on
to the very animal snarers are here to protect."
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Snaring is not
the saving grace -- the reestablishment of large winter yards
is. |
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In further explanation, Jerry pointed out
that snarers employ a snaring mechanism that has a noose governor
meeting a minimum closure diameter, permiting the escape of rare
incidental captures of deer or other smaller predators.
Another aspect of incidental wildlife safety is a breakaway system
that allows for the larger animals who get caught the ability to
break free. I asked him if there were any other precautions
his snaring fraternity takes to only target the coyote.
"We'll set our snares 30 to 40 yards
from the bait, hung over trails we'll pack down with
snowshoes. We know that the coyote will take the easier path
to the bait. We're careful to set the cable strand nooses at a
height for coyotes that will usually be too high for other
predators, and too low for moose or deer to become entangled.
By setting the snares a distance from the bait, eagles and ravens
are in no danger." After telling me that he snares and
foothold traps about 30 coyotes a year, and knows of other snarers
who harvest up to 50, I asked him what else could be done to assist
in protecting the deer comfort zones.
"Presently, snaring season runs
January through February. I believe that the season should
begin the first of December. This way we could snare over
baits before the deer yard up. If we can thin the coyotes
before the deer yard we'll save more. I also feel that the
season should be extended through March so we can protect the
whitetail when they're at their weakest, the does are heavy with
fawn and pregnant coyotes can be taken. We feel that we're
providing a valuable service until the winter habitat comes back to
give deer natural protection."
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Jerry
McLaughlin of New Sweden displays an early winter take of nine
coyotes he snared from deer yards in the Central Aroostook
area. |
In order to see how the coyote snaring
operation is managed I stopped in to visit Region G Wildlife
Biologist, Rich Hoppe, at his MDIFW headquarters in Ashland. I
was surprised with the meticulous management of the Animal Damage
Control cooperators, starting with the stringent training
requirements, strict regulation of field operations, followed up
with administration and record keeping inspections of each
cooperator. I asked Rich about the snaring program.
"Each wildlife region has a
three-member snaring advisory committee made up of a warden,
biologist and snareman to coordinate snaring activities and assist
in certification of snarers. Once proficiency is determined
and a snarer passes the Snaring Education Course, they are required
to use only specialized breakaway devices and a loop diameter limit
that will not jeopardize non-target species. They are required
to post the snaring areas and routinely tend them as required by
law."
I queried Rich about the biological need to deploy ADC cooperators
into deer wintering areas. "The overall deer herd
condition in northernmost Maine is not going to change no matter how
successful snaremen are until we can solve the problem of whitetail
wintering habitat. Snaring is not the saving grace--the
reestablishment of large winter yards is.
In southern and central Maine where there
are sufficient deer yards and a corresponding deer abundance coyotes
are plentiful too and have little impact on overall whitetail
numbers. Snaring makes little difference there. Here in
the north the forest make up is as different. Presently there
is only 1.4% of the landbase in deer wintering habitat. With
cooperative programs to develop habitat by working with the
industrial landowners in the north our goal is to reach 8% of the
landbase by 2030. Basically we have to let the trees
grow. Only then will we have large enough winter yarding
acreage to let nature protect its own, such as is occurring
successfully in other parts of the state, and will in Region G
someday.
When associated with deer predation problems, fully certified
snaremen will now be allowed to snare coyotes in December and March
as deployed by biologists. Also, there are new regulations
coming out soon as a result of the advisory committee meetings I
described earlier. Until we can reestablish sufficient winter
forage and protective areas for deer the coyote snaring is an
important management tool. Good deer management is not only
beneficial to deer, but to other species as well."
Both Jerry and Rich opened my eyes to the
authentic coyote control process. What I learned from both
quelled misinformed presumptions and misleading information
previously believed by me and probably by the readers of this
column. Safety measures, both mandated by law and self imposed
by the snaring brotherhood, makes the program effective and safe for
other forest denizens. Neither of these professionals
advocates extermination, only management. With sound
biological advice and direction of biologists like Rich Hoppe,
coupled with the lawful application of the sport by ethical snaremen
like Jerry McLaughlin, a controversial control measure is more
publicly palatable. A tough balancing act for sure.
Sportsmen need to take the lead to discontinue discrimination
against any species just because we are the dominant animal and
can. Overall, it seems, both consumptive hunters are on the
same side now. Be open minded and remember the black bear's
history.
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Wayne Selfridge is a seasoned
outdoorsman who has hunted and fished throughout the world as
a military veteran. He works in law enforcement and is a
member of the New England Outdoor Writers Association and
serves as the Journal's Northern Sales Manager.
©
2001 Northwoods Sporting Journal
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