Coyote by Camilla Fox, Larkspur, CA

Do you like coyotes? If so, you’ll really like Project Coyote. Below is a year-end letter I just received from them. Check it out, and if you feel as I do, please donate what you can to help them do their important work for coyotes — America’s song dog. Thanks, and have a Happy New Year! /Gary

Greetings from Project Coyote:
We have ambitious plans for 2010 to protect coyotes from wanton abuse and cruelty, to promote educated coexistence between people and coyotes, and to foster respect for and appreciation of coyotes and other native carnivores throughout North America.

Coyote cub photo by Project Coyote

We are already working toward this goal and just today issued a news release in the state of Maine on behalf of a national coalition we formed to stop coyote killing “tournaments” currently underway in Maine. You can read about this effort on our home page at http://www.ProjectCoyote.org.

We may be small but we have accomplished more in our first year of existence than many organizations accomplish over years. Some of our accomplishments this year:

*** Project Coyote staff (largely volunteer) and advisory board members organized and moderated sessions about coyotes at conferences. We provided over two dozen presentations and workshops about coyotes and predator management both nationally and internationally.

*** We launched our much lauded website — http://www.ProjectCoyote.org and continue to expand this site, providing vital resources and information for the public, media, communities, and agencies.

*** Project Coyote’s Maine rep., Geri Vistein, led a successful effort in Maine to stop the expansion of coyote night hunting in the state legislature.

*** We’re working with grassroots coalitions to end coyote and fox penning and live bait hunting dog training and coyote snaring in various areas of North America.

*** We lobbied in support of a bill to ban the use of cruel steel-jaw leghold traps used to capture coyotes and other wildlife in Montgomery County, Maryland. Megan Draheim, Project Coyote’s DC rep., was honored for her work on the bill.

*** We created an array of educational tools and resources including our new Coexisting with Coyotes brochure and BE COYOTE AWARE sign that we are making available to communities nationwide.

*** We worked with a national coalition of wildlife conservation organizations to alert the Obama Administration and Congress about the federal government’s ongoing war on coyotes and other native wildlife through its “Wildlife Services” program.

Coyote on Mount Diablo by Brian Murphy

We believe coyotes are a vital component of rural and urban communities, deserving of respect for their adaptability, resilience, and intelligence. We aim to create a shift in attitudes toward coyotes and other native carnivores by replacing ignorance and fear with understanding and appreciation.

Now a staff is needed to continue our important work on behalf of coyotes and other native carnivores, and staffing takes money!

Coyote on Mount Diablo by Brian Murphy

*** Please consider a year-end tax-deductible gift to Project Coyote in support of our unique work on behalf of coyotes throughout North America: https://www.earthislandprojects.org/projectCoyote/donate.html

With sincere thanks, Camilla H. Fox, Founding Director, Project Coyote

Coyote on Mount Diablo by Brian Murphy

PS: Check out Project Coyote in the news this past year!

Marin Voice: The coyotes in our midst
By Camilla H. Fox Marin Independent Journal http://www.marinij.com/marinnews/ci_13594101

Project Coyote-Protecting America’s Song Dog
By Camilla H. Fox, Earth Island Journal http://www.earthisland.org/journal/index.php/eij/article/project_coyote

Coyote Sightings Increase In Urban Bay Area
CBS Channel 5 http://cbs5.com/local/coyote.sighting.urban.2.1341849.html

Maine Voices: It’s Time To Start Respecting Coyotes
By Geri Vistein, Portland Press Herald http://pressherald.mainetoday.com/story.php?id=234827&ac=PHedi

Carnivore Management in the U.S.: The Need for Reform
By Camilla H. Fox, AWI Quarterly http://www.projectcoyote.org/Carnivore_Management_Fall_2009.pdf

Watch for our first Project Coyote Newsletter coming soon!

Project Coyote can be reached at P.O. Box 5007, Larkspur, CA 94977 (415-945-3232). This is a very special (and vital!) organization and Camilla is the best. Anything you can do to help them will help coyotes. Thanks! /Gary