A crowd of area residents nearly filled the Columbia High School Auditorium June 19 for a North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission public hearing to receive comments on proposed temporary rules relative to coyote hunting in the five-county red wolf reintroduction area in northeastern North Carolina.
Background:

Ncwildlife.org states that under the proposed changes, coyote hunting would be prohibited in Dare, Tyrrell, Hyde, Beaufort and Washington counties.  Shooting depredating coyotes without a permit in Dare, Tyrrell, Hyde, Beaufort and Washington counties would be prohibited except in defense of humans, livestock and pets. Commission employees could continue to issue permits to trap depredating coyotes. All depredating coyotes killed in these five counties would have to be reported to the Commission within 24 hours. Landowners could also harass depredating coyotes using non-lethal means, with or without a permit.

Gordon Myers,Executive Director at the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission led the presentation taking questions and making sure the hearing ran efficiently.

“The Commisson adopted rules to allow nighthunting of coyotes statewide with the aid of a light. That WRC action followed extensive stakeholder input meetings. Daylight hunting of coyotes has been lawful since 1993,” said Myers.

Myers said that adoption of those night-hunting regulations also followed a lot of data review.
“For example in the five-year period from 2005 to 2010, the estimated statewide coyote harvested increased from 19,000 to more than 36,000. In the three-year period from 2007 to 2010, the coyote harvest by hunters in the coastal region increased from 4000 to more than 10,000 coyotes. There was a significant increase in the coyote harvest which indicates a significant increase in abundance,” said Myers.

Since coyote populations have increased, there is increasing concern with how to manage them.

“After the Commission adopted those regulations, the Wildlife Federation, the Red Wolf Coalition, and the Animal Welfare Institute filed a lawsuit against the Wildlife Resources Commission’s action alleging that those actions result in a violation of the Endangered Species Act,” said Myers.

Myers provided more background on the issue.
“The plaintiff filed a motion for a preliminary injunction in the five counties in which the red wolf re-introduction area is located. The plaintiff’s motion for a preliminary injunction was granted and a court order was issued by the U.S. District of Eastern North Carolina  May 13, 2014 in the five county red wolf re-introduction area. The U.S. District Judge will revisit this order in one hundred and 80 days from its issuance. Under this order, coyotes may only be shot in defense of a person’s safety or in the safety of others, or if livestock or pets are threatened,” said Myers.
Anyone who shoots a coyote under these conditions is required to report the shooting within 24 hours to the Wildlife Resources Commission.
“This reporting can be accomplished at the Wildlife Resources Commission’s Communications Center. Under this preliminary injunction, the Wildlife Resources Commission’s Communication Center will maintain a database of all reports from people who shoot coyotes. That court order does not affect lawful trapping of coyotes. The preliminary injunction also does not affect trapping under established seasons,” said Myers

The first ruling for which comments were sought was related to coyotes taken by hunting.

Public Response:
The first comment portion prompted a variety of responses.

A Hertford resident stated her support of established rules to protect red wolves.

“I came to Columbia because of the red wolves seven years ago. When the wolves are threatened to accidental takes because of coyote hunting, the citizens of the area are affected in the entire region. I stop in Columbia on the way to Manteo. I bring visitors to visit the wolves. We need the coyote hunting rules to prevent the accidental takes of red wolves so people in the five county area can benefit economically,” said the resident.

Tony Mitchell from Wayne County expressed support of coyote hunting.

“We are in favor shooting the coyotes. Because we feel like they are aiding the decline of gray foxes in the east. We also would like to prevent a situation where someone is out to hunt foxes or deer. Along the line a game warden comes along and they happen to run a coyote off the road and they would be considered at fault. That is one of our concerns,” said Mitchell.

Myers responded to Mitchell’s comment.

“As I understand it one of two elements would need to proven. One would be that the coyote was dispatched at the end of a chase.  The other would be if there is an intentional chasing of the coyote. If it is incidental to chasing foxes that is another story. We will see some clarification to that question,” said Myers.

Bob Harris, a Camden County resident, is the president of the Albemarle Houndsman Association. He spoke at the hearing expressing his support of coyote hunting.

“We are opposed to the closing of these counties. The coyotes are a great problem. The wolves did not need to be here to start off with, yet they brought them in. They are supposed to be in Dare County on the government land. As far as I know some of them have been killed as far away as Virginia. They are probably a cross-breed anyway, I know my son went over there 20 years ago when they were first doing that.They were doing tests on the coyotes to see if they were part coyote part not. It is a natural thing for them to spread out. The fact is that they were trying to close five counties. The coyotes have been here for the last 10 or 15 years. They have wiped out a lot of the foxes, and they sure took a lot of the deer,” said Harris.

Frances Armstrong lives in Beaufort County. She has lived and worked in Beaufort County since 1981.

Armstrong supported protecting red wolves.

“I support the red wolves. I want the temporary rules that will stop the coyote hunting in the five county red wolf recovery area,” said Armstrong at the hearing

Mike Noles, an area resident,owns a hunting guide service that operates in Washington, Tyrrell, and Hyde counties.

“One of the effects of this injunction on our business is that we hunt feral hogs and we hunt coyotes in the summertime. It is a supplement to our business. This injunction has stopped a part of our income. When we say our income, we also are bringing in outside visitors. We are bringing in other money that would not necessarily be here to these counties. I support the Wildlife Commission in getting this injunction removed so that we can continue to hunt coyotes,” said Noles.

Noles also had a question.

“In trapping these coyotes, are we keeping them alive until a member of law enforcement or biologist gets there?” asked Noles.

Myers replied.

“We will be seeking clarification prior to the commencement of the trapping season. We have some time on that. Relative to the depredation rules, we will be requiring depredation permits because that can be implemented right away. We will be requiring that interaction for determination of the animal,” said Myers.

Noles replied.

“So if I have a depredation permit and we trap one of these animals it will be kept alive?” said Noles.

Myers responded.

“Long enough for identification purposes.”
Noles asked who would keep the animal alive.

Myers explained that the Commission was working with landowners on the various rules

Wade Hubers, a farmer in Hyde County, expressed his support for coyote hunting.

“I support the Wildlife Commission in getting rid of this injunction. It goes much deeper than just this rule that we are talking about. When the red wolf was reintroduced, we were promised that the Red Wolf would stay on the Refuge. That promise has been broken through and through. Now we are including five counties. How much further is it going to spread? How much of our property rights are you going to take away?” asked Hubers.

Hubers had read a study that had been done by Roland Kays from the New York Museum on wolves and coyotes.

“Dr. Roland Kays, the Museum’s curator of mammals, was one of 15 other national and international scientists who collaborated on the study that used unprecedented genetic technology, developed from the dog genome, to survey the global genetic diversity in dogs, wolves and coyotes. The study used over 48,000 genetic markers, making it the most detailed genomic study of any wild vertebrate species,” reads a paragraph from artdaily.com

Hubers explain some of the results of the study.

“He came to the conclusion that the red wolf in North Carolina is 24 percent wolf and 76 percent coyote. So what are we doing anyway? And now we are not going to kill coyotes and have more of them? So that we get that diluted down to 10 percent. Why don’t we just stop the program and quit throwing money down the rat hole?” asked Hubers.

Lynn Clayton,owns some farmland about a mile south of the Pocosin Lakes National Wildlife Refuge.

“It is one of the places they turned loose the red wolves and the coyotes that are trapped and collared. That place is flooded. The pine trees are dying and it is not inhabitable. We used to see lots of deer riding through our farm at night with a spotlight. What is the definition of a red wolf?  Most of the information I can find on the Internet says that there is only about 25 percent of a red wolf in a red wolf. What is it protected?” asked Clayton.

The hearing continued to provide a variety of responses until its conclusion.

The North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission is still reviewing the issue.

“The public comment period extends through Monday (June 23) and comments can be emailed to regulations@ncwildlife.org or mailed to N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission, 1701 Mail Service Center, Raleigh, N.C. 27699-1701.

 

The temporary rules for the Wildlife Commission to comply with and implement the U.S. District Court ordered preliminary injunction will become effective August 1, 2014. For more information on Wildlife Commission temporary rulemaking, go to http://www.ncwildlife.org/ProposedRegulations.aspx.

 

We await the programmatic evaluation of the red wolf reintroduction by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service,” said Geoff Cantrell, Public Information and Media Relations Officer with the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission

Kim Wheeler, Executive Director of the Red Wolf Coalition, commented on the hearing.

:”The Wildlife Resources Commission did an excellent job communicating the terms of the injunction entered by the federal district court for the Eastern District of North Carolina and how the injunction affects coyote hunting in Beaufort, Dare, Hyde, Tyrrell and Washington counties.  We appreciate the professional manner in which these public hearings are held,” said Wheeler.