Final Dissertation
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SOCIAL CONFLICT AND HUMAN-COYOTE INTERACTIONS IN SUBURBAN DENVER by Megan M. Draheim A Dissertation Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of George Mason University in Partial Fulfillment of The Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy Environmental Science and Public Policy Dr. Larry 1. Rockwood, Dissertation Director Dr. Gregory Guagnano, Committee Member Dr. E. C. M. Parsons, Committee Member Dr. Susan A. Crate, Committee Member Dr. Albert Torzilli, Graduate Program Director II ,- ~- , ~ ~Dr. Robert Jonas, Department Chairperson .\~ Lf. __· Dr. Timothy 1. Born, Associate Dean for Student and Academic Affairs, College of . Science ~:~) (, (.!,/C-<__ .( ~~~.t~-<-o,,,:.t;:'i:._,, Dr. Vikas Chandhoke, Dean, College of Science Date: ~: I 2..'( ZOI7- ~ _ Spring Semester 2012 George Mason University Fairfax, VA Social Conflict and Human-Coyote Interactions in Suburban Denver A Dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy at George Mason University By Megan M. Draheim Master of Science George Mason University, 2007 Bachelor of Arts George Washington University, 1999 Director: Larry L. Rockwood, Professor Department of Environmental Science & Policy Spring Semester 2012 George Mason University Fairfax, VA Copyright: 2012, Megan M. Draheim All Rights Reserved ii DEDICATION To my amazingly supportive (and patient!) husband, David A. Harris. I could not have done this without you. iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Thanks first to my advisor, Dr. Larry L. Rockwood, and my committee, Drs. Susan Crate, Gregory Guagnano, and E. C. M. Parsons, for all of their help, support, and friendship over the years. This research was funded by a grant from the Humane Society of the United States through the Humane Institute for Science and Policy’s Fellowship Program, a grant from the Animal Welfare Institute, and a dissertation completion grant from George Mason University’s College of Science. A special thanks to Dr. John Hadidian from HSUS; D. J. Schubert from AWI; and Dr. Rockwood for nominating me for the dissertation completion grant. The George Mason Center for Social Science Research did a wonderful job administering the telephone survey, and thanks especially to Dr. Jim Witte and Vicki Watson for all of their help with that process. In Denver, Dr. Nicole Rosmarino, Karen Strickland, and Paula Lewis were all very generous with their time and knowledge of human-coyote conflict in Centennial and Greenwood Village. Camilla Fox of Project Coyote has always been a strong supporter of this work. I am deeply appreciative of all of the Denver-area residents who allowed me to interview them for this project – I quite literally could not have done this without their generosity. My talented writer’s group members deserve much of the credit for me being able to finish this dissertation in a timely fashion, so thanks to Dr. Jenny Biddle and the soon-to-be- Drs. Susan Keltner and Jennica Larrison. I’ve been lucky enough to receive both moral and financial support from my department, the Department of Environmental Science and Policy, for both my MS work and this project. Sharon Bloomquist has helped make the defense and graduation processes much simpler than they might have been otherwise. I am fortunate to have so many friends who have helped in ways both big and small over the years, and so my heartfelt gratitude to them all. My family’s support (especially my mom, Linda Jo Clough, my dad, James Draheim, my step-father, Rodney Clough, and my in-laws, Samuel and Muriel Harris) has been wonderful, and my husband, David A. Harris (the real David A. Harris) has been pretty much the most amazing, supportive husband of all time. And finally, our pets deserve a special mention for helping to keep me sane through this project, so thanks to Brooklyn, Gator, Hank, and little Wrigley (who’s not so little anymore). iv TABLE OF CONTENTS Page LIST OF TABLES ........................................................................................................vii LIST OF FIGURES......................................................................................................viii ABSTRACT..................................................................................................................iix CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION AND LITERATURE REVIEW ..................................1 Human-Wildlife Conflict...........................................................................................1 The Importance of Urban Wildlife.............................................................................3 Coyote Ecology.........................................................................................................5 Policy and Attitudes...................................................................................................9 Constructing the Coyote and Each Other .................................................................14 Pests........................................................................................................................21 CHAPTER 2: GREENWOOD VILLAGE AND CENTENNIAL, COLORADO...........29 Community Characteristics......................................................................................29 Human-Coyote Conflict in Centennial and Greenwood Village ...............................33 Greenwood Village............................................................................................33 Centennial .........................................................................................................36 Coyote Management Plans ......................................................................................37 CHAPTER 3: NARRATIVES OF HUMAN-COYOTE CONFLICT IN SUBURBAN DENVER ......................................................................................................................46 Methodology ...........................................................................................................47 What Is a Real Coyote? ...........................................................................................50 Rhetoric of Violence and Intolerance.......................................................................59 Visions of Each Other..............................................................................................64 Is There a Threat?....................................................................................................76 How to Manage Them?............................................................................................89 CHAPTER 4: THE ROOTS OF HUMAN-COYOTE CONFLICT ..............................100 The Politics of Coyotes..........................................................................................102 Social Contributions to Human-Coyote Conflict: Who is Responsible?..................110 Greenwood Village and Centennial: Why the Difference? .....................................127 The Geographies of Human-Coyote Conflict .........................................................144 v CHAPTER 5: SURVEY OF RESIDENTS OF CENTENNIAL AND GREENWOOD VILLAGE...................................................................................................................157 Methodology .........................................................................................................157 Demographic Characteristics ...........................................................................158 Awareness of Coyotes......................................................................................159 Role of Government.........................................................................................159 Belief in Coyote Residency..............................................................................159 Fear .................................................................................................................159 Willingness to Act ...........................................................................................160 Support for Lethal Control...............................................................................161 Knowledge ......................................................................................................161 Fences .............................................................................................................162 Coexistence .....................................................................................................163 Willingness to Live with Coyotes (WLC) ........................................................163 Multiple Regression.........................................................................................164 Results...................................................................................................................164 Demographic Information................................................................................164 Awareness of and Experience with Coyotes.....................................................168 Role of Government.........................................................................................170 Belief in Coyote Residency..............................................................................171 Fear .................................................................................................................172 Willingness to Act ...........................................................................................173 Support for Lethal Control...............................................................................175