Virginia Master Naturalist Continuing Education Webinar Series. This webinar presentation provides an overview of the history, biology, and ecology of coyotes in Virginia. Suggestions for reducing coyote-human conflicts in both rural and urban environments are discussed. An update is provided on a coyote research project being conducted in the Appalachian Mountain region of western Virginia. This talk is intended to increase your understanding, and perhaps dispel a few myths, related to one of the world’s most adaptable mammals. Although coyotes are a relative newcomer to Virginia, they are here to stay and we must learn to coexist with them.
Presenter: Mike Fies, Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries
Mike Fies works as a wildlife research biologist for the Virginia Department of Game & Inland Fisheries. His office is located in the Shenandoah Valley just north of Staunton. Mike is the state Furbearer Project Leader with job responsibilities that include conducting research, monitoring populations, developing management recommendations, resolving wildlife conflicts, and providing information to the public related to Virginia's furbearer species. He has statewide responsibilities. Wildlife species included in his job duties include bobcat, fox, coyote, raccoon, skunk, opossum, weasel, beaver, muskrat, mink, otter, and nutria.