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P&E COMMITTEE AGENDA
DECEMBER 14, 1995
ADMINISTRATIVE REPORT
Date: November 10,1995
TO: Standing Committee on Planning and Environment
FROM: General Manager of Engineering Services in Consultation with
the Special Office for the Environment and the General Manager
of Corporate Services
SUBJECT: Environmental Grants
CONSIDERATION
The General Manager of Engineering Services, Director of Permits and
Licenses, General Manager of Corporate Services, and Medical Health
Officer offer for consideration:
THAT Council approve a grant of $10,820 to the Stanley Park Ecology
Society for their Urban Coyote Project; source of funds to be the
Environmental Grant Fund in the Solid Waste Capital Reserve.
GENERAL MANAGER'S COMMENTS
The General Manager of Engineering Services notes that the Staff Review
Committee was supportive of this environmental grant submission. There
are, however, concerns with regard to whether or not this project is:
1. a City responsibility, and
2. within the scope of the Environmental Grant Program.
As a result, it is submitted for Council CONSIDERATION.
COUNCIL POLICY
On March 27, 1990, Council approved an allocation of $250,000 to fund
the Environmental Grant Program.
On July 10, 1990, Council approved the Environmental Grant Guidelines
and Criteria, which are appended for reference.
Approval of the grants requires eight affirmation votes.
BACKGROUND
On March 27, 1990, Council approved a number of recommendations
concerning the City's Environmental Program. One of those dealt with
the creation of a $250,000 fund to sponsor private, non-profit, non-
partisan, community-based programs aimed at personal actions that
restore or improve the environment.
There have been eight Environmental Grant Reports considered by Council
to date. In total, 33 requests have been reviewed with 23 funding
awards to organizations totalling approximately $240,000.
One organization did not proceed with its proposed project and
consequently, the funding was not issued and the grant was cancelled.
This lowers the actual amount paid out to date to approximately
$215,000.
CURRENT GRANT REQUEST
This is the eighth Environmental Grant Report and it contains one grant
request.
Project Amt. Requested
Urban Coyote Project $10,820
The Staff Review Committee, comprising representatives of Community
Services, Corporate Services, and Engineering Services, has reviewed the
submission relative to the criteria approved by Council, and makes the
following recommendation:
1. Stanley Park Ecology Society - Urban Coyote Project
Requested: $10,820
Recommended: $10,820
Problem wildlife complaints to the Wildlife Branch of the
Ministry of Environment, Lands and Parks (MOELP) and the S.P.C.A.
are increasing dramatically. The largest component of these
complaints involves coyotes, with the Wildlife Branch in Surrey
recording a 315% increase in coyote-related complaints since 1985.
Our urban coyote problems are not an isolated phenomenon; many
urban centres throughout North America have been plagued by the
proliferation of coyotes.
As Council is aware, many coyote complaints are also reaching the
Vancouver Park Board and the City Pound resulting in two coyote-
related Council Reports in 1994. There are some significant
coyote hot spots in Vancouver such as the Southlands area but
basically, there have been sightings and complaints related to
coyotes over the entire area of the City. The animals would appear
to move about the City quite freely using green corridors such as
golf courses, ravines and parks.
The coyotes occasionally pose a safety risk to people and are
known to prey on pets, especially cats and small dogs. Eliminating
the coyote problem is a difficult task. Many cities have
attempted costly live trap or eradication programs with little
success. The coyote is an extremely intelligent and adaptable
predator which thrives in the urban environment and is likely to
remain part of Vancouver s urban ecosystem.
These issues were presented to Vancouver City Council in the most
recent Coyote Council Report which was dated September 2, 1994 and
focused around discussion with the Urban Wildlife Committee of
Greater Vancouver. The report outlined that coyote removal could
be controversial and expensive and that many methods such as
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trapping or poisoning could also pose a threat to domestic
animals. It also stated that MOELP s position was that they would
only deal with complaints where public safety was involved.
Based on the information available, it was the General Manager of
Parks and Recreation s opinion that the most effective way to
avoid conflict with coyotes was to enhance our understanding of
the animal and increase public awareness of coyote behaviour. The
Urban Coyote Project seeks to target the coyote problem based on
this philosophy and has the support of the Urban Wildlife
Committee. The proposed program aims at fostering an appreciation
of urban wildlife and will emphasize the coexistence between
humans and coyotes in the City of Vancouver. There are three
components to the initiative:
1. to determine more about the local habits and biology of urban
coyotes;
2. to identify the specific concerns the public has with respect
to urban coyotes;
3. and to produce educational materials and programs that address
the public s fears and concerns.
The funding requested from the City of Vancouver is to finance the
survey and educational component of the Urban Coyote Project. The
initiative is sponsored by the Stanley Park Ecology Society with
the work to be conducted by Kristine Webber with input from the
Urban Wildlife Committee and other agencies.
With respect to the environmental grant guidelines, this is a
somewhat atypical project that does not have easily measurable
environmental benefits. It is hoped that a successful proactive
program will be reflected in fewer coyote incidents/complaints to
the City and other agencies. The project is in accordance with
the environmental grant guidelines in that it targets what is
basically an unmet need. The Ministry of Environment has
developed a Provincial coyote brochure related to preventing urban
coyote problems, which is distributed on a complaint basis. The
Urban Wildlife Committee has also drafted an urban wildlife
brochure addressing general urban wildlife information, but a
coyote specific document pertaining to the City has not been
produced.
It is the intent of the Urban Coyote Project to gather City
specific data relating to the biology of our coyotes (hunting
grounds, den sites, diet and diseases) as well as survey the
public regarding their particular concerns and attitudes with
respect to coyotes. Based on the information gathered, public
education pertaining to alleviating the concerns identified will
be produced and distributed in problem areas of the City.
The Urban Coyote Project has to date garnered support from a
variety of agencies: the Ministry of Environment - complaint data,
logistic support and coyote cadavers; the BCSPCA - financial
support; the Urban Wildlife Committee - volunteer assistance; the
BC Humane Education Society - financial and volunteer assistance;
and UBC - administrative support and equipment. It is hoped that
by working with all the affected agencies a formal coyote
management protocol can be developed for responding to coyote
problems. At present, without any formal guidelines for
addressing coyote complaints, agencies are seen as doing nothing
to alleviate the public s concerns.
The staff review committee feels that the Urban Coyote Project has
merit in that it will help to alleviate residents fears and the
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frustration they feel regarding nothing being done to address the
current coyote problems. There is the potential to establish a
formal direction for responding to coyote related incidences and
enquiries in the City, and ensure that all affected agencies have
the same timely and relevant coyote information to address the
public s concerns. Notwithstanding the above comments, the review
committee questioned the severity of the problem and the benefit
to be achieved but felt on balance, the project should be endorsed
given the increasing coyote incidences/complaints trend.
SUMMARY
The Staff Review Committee recommends approval of the application under
the Environmental Grant Program in the following amount:
Urban Coyote Study $10,820
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