Lane County Euthanizes Coyote at Mount Pisgah, More Removals Possible

A coyote has been euthanized at Howard Buford Recreation Area after officials determined that park visitors have been illegally feeding the animals, triggering a surge of more than 30 reported sightings in January alone and a pattern of behavior that Lane County Parks says poses a growing risk to the park's 600,000 annual visitors.

Lane County Parks announced March 18 that staff, working with wildlife biologists from the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife and wildlife management professionals, have begun a targeted removal of habituated coyotes at the Mount Pisgah property. The evidence pointing to deliberate feeding was direct: coyote droppings collected in the area increasingly contained dog food and human food scraps.

The behavioral shift has been stark. Animals that once kept their distance are now following people and dogs along trails, standing next to cars in the main and northside parking lots, and refusing to retreat when visitors attempt to scare them off. Lane County sent local newsrooms footage of one coyote standing alongside a vehicle on a park road.

"We're now in a situation where coyotes are so habituated to people that they have become a danger," Lane County spokesperson Devon Ashbridge said. "We're evaluating the behavior in and around populated park areas, and it is likely that we'll have to euthanize one or more additional coyotes."

Officials believe a group of two to three coyotes are primarily responsible for the escalating encounters, and one of that group has been euthanized. Sightings posted to the iNaturalist app have become increasingly concentrated near parking lots and other high-traffic areas of the recreation area, which also encompasses the Mount Pisgah Arboretum.

Non-lethal hazing was considered but rejected. "The coyotes that are at issue here have become so comfortable with people that they aren't eligible or likely to be scared off by hazing," Ashbridge said. "They're likely to simply just return right to the same problematic and dangerous activities once that stops."

Relocation was also ruled out. ODFW guidance prohibits moving coyotes within Oregon, citing poor outcomes: relocated animals are frequently killed by resident coyotes in the release area, or die from disease, starvation, or vehicle strikes. "It can be more inhumane to actually take them out of the area that they're used to and put them into the territory of other coyotes," ODFW said in a statement. "And so that really left us with the hard decision to euthanize coyotes that are too comfortable with people."

ODFW spokesperson Beth Quillan acknowledged that removing one animal does not resolve the underlying problem. "Removing one coyote doesn't necessarily fix the problem of the root cause, you know, that food provided by people is not also addressed," Quillan said. "In this situation, public safety is our number one, and a targeted removal can be helpful in taking the risk away for specific animals."

Feeding coyotes and other wild predators is against state law. Lane County and ODFW are urging visitors to keep pets leashed, avoid the park alone at dawn and dusk when coyotes are most active, and remove pet food and food scraps from public areas. Anyone who witnesses someone feeding coyotes at Howard Buford should report it to Lane County Parks or the Eugene Police Department.

"You should not be encouraging them to approach you or your vehicle," Ashbridge said. "It's not cute. It's not normal behavior. And, unfortunately, it trains these animals to think of people as a source of food, and that's where you get conflict."

Lane County Parks said additional euthanizations remain possible as long as habituated coyotes continue to approach visitors and the risk of injury persists.