On August 11, 2015, the Common Council adopted the “Coyote Nuisance Management and Response Plan Policy." This plan for strategic action was designed to increase residents’ knowledge and understanding of how coyotes behave and how such behavior can be managed with human safety as a priority. The focus of the policy is to provide information about the behavior of coyotes as it relates to different forms of human interaction. The Coyote Policy acknowledges that public safety is a primary concern; however, the City also recognizes the environmental benefit of maintaining and encouraging natural wildlife populations. The City will make every effort to maintain natural ecosystems; it is not an objective of this policy to carry out a coyote culling program. The City’s Coyote Policy will provide strategies as to the best known responses to live compatibly with coyotes while providing guidance for appropriate levels of response to varying types of coyote activity and/or interactions.
The City encourages all residents to take steps to eliminate attractants on your property and to re-instill the coyote’s fear of humans though hazing efforts. Proactive steps can help to minimize interactions with coyotes. Residents are also urged to share this information with friends and neighbors because minimizing interactions is most effective when entire neighborhoods work together. For example, communities throughout Colorado have utilized hazing efforts as their sole means to address coyote related concerns in a non-lethal manner. The City of Denver, Colorado, conducted a formal study regarding hazing efforts and their impact on coyotes. The City of Aurora, Michigan, created this very educational, yet humorous, video about “How to Haze a Coyote”.
Reporting a Coyote Incident
An important facet of the “Coyote Nuisance Management and Response Plan Policy” is for the City of Mequon to gather data regarding the various types and locations of coyote related incidents/interactions within the community.
Please click here to submit a coyote incident report. If preferred, paper copies of report forms are available for pickup at City Hall and at the Police Department.
The Wisconsin Trappers Association, maintains a referral list for nuisance wild animal removal services. The State of Wisconsin has an open hunting/trapping season for coyotes on a year-round basis. Anyone interested in pursuing this activity is strongly encouraged to contact the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (WI-DNR) and the Mequon Police Department to learn about the State and Local laws that apply. Under certain circumstances, the City will have the ability to assign a WI-DNR Nuisance Permit for use by a hunter or trapper. There are very specific terms and conditions for the use of the WI-DNR Nuisance Permit, so please be sure to review all of the regulations prior to applying. To apply for an assignable WI-DNR Nuisance Permit, please print the application form and submit the completed form to the City Administration offices. Each permit application requires a mandatory background check of the applicant and will be reviewed on its own merits. The City reserves the right not to assign the WI-DNR nuisance permit.
A critical element of the City’s “Coyote Nuisance Management and Response Plan Policy” is the education and awareness of residents. Mequon’s educational campaign primarily focuses on how residents can coexist with coyotes. Examples of the City’s educational outreach efforts, as set forth in the adopted policy and action plan, include: brochures, informational postcards mailed to specific neighborhoods with an increased level of coyote sightings and incidents, detailed information and appropriate links made available on the City’s website, educational signs posted in appropriate parks and open spaces and at those locations experiencing an increase in coyote activity. The education of the public is an important tool for the coexistence of residents and coyotes in a safe environment.
Please be sure to visit the webpages listed below for additional information: