Rye Brook to trap coyotes

A coyote was spotted and photographed in the Schwartzmans’ backyard on Edgewood Drive earlier this month.

By Nathan Mayberg

Labeling it a “hazing” program, next month the Village of Rye Brook will embark on a four-week trial period of placing traps throughout the village to capture coyotes.

The village has tapped Jim Horton, owner of Quality Pro Pest and Wildlife Services in Hawthorne, to do the trapping at a cost of about $3,000.

Mayor Joan Feinstein said the trapping will be done on a trial basis. It is part of a new policy to deal with the village’s coyote problem. Coyotes have been spotted throughout the village on a regular basis, encroaching closer to residents.

A number of village residents are worried about the safety of their children, as two young children were mauled by coyotes in Rye this summer.

The new program was drafted by Feinstein, Village Administrator Chris Bradbury and Police Chief Greg Austin. Bradbury was on vacation this week, but his assistant, David Burke, said the term “hazing” was used as a way to note that the village was “trying to instill a fear back into coyotes.”

Burke said the village will be developing a regional plan with the City of Rye and will be attempting to educate residents through the village’s website and government access channel.

Feinstein said Bradbury has met with the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation on the issue. The village also plans to meet with the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

The plan calls on police to continue monitoring the coyotes’ behavior and to scare them off properties when asked. Police can shoot aggressive coyotes.

Feinstein urged residents to continue reporting sightings to police so the village can track where they are being sighted the most.

The mayor said the traps will be placed on property owned by the village. That could mean the closure of some park areas. The village will notify the public of the locations of the traps and any such park closings.

A number of residents, including Feinstein, have speculated that the creation of the detention basin on Edgewood Drive and Bluebird Hollow, which involved the clearing of more than two acres of trees, could have driven the coyotes from their natural habitat.

The mayor said she understands that many residents would like to eradicate the coyotes, but she thinks that is unlikely. “We have to learn to live with them…we won’t be able to completely eradicate them.”

The village recommends that people who see coyotes make a lot of noise to scare them away. That could include the use of air horns. Feinstein said people shouldn’t run away from the animals. Residents are also advised not to leave food out to attract coyotes, even bird seed, said Feinstein. The village will re-evaluate the program after four weeks.

Michelle Breslin, who began complaining about coyotes back in January after the work on the detention basin began, commended the village for their recently announced action. “They are doing the right thing,” said Breslin, who has seen coyotes in her backyard on Woodland Drive.

“They are all over the place,” she said.

This is part of the July 30, 2010 online edition of Rye Brook Westmore News.

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