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Village board adopts coyote-management policy with three-tier response plan
Summary
The Whitefish Bay Village Board adopted a coyote-management policy after a staff intern presented a plan focused on public education and a three-color response scale: green for sightings, yellow for nuisance encounters and police documentation, and red for verified attacks that may prompt trapping.
The Whitefish Bay Village Board on Aug. 4 adopted a coyote-management policy intended to educate residents about coyote behavior and set clear response steps for escalating encounters.
Eric Woolseie, the village’s summer management intern, told the board staff reviewed several municipal plans and a coexistence plan from Project Coyote before assembling the draft policy. "The first level is green. This is for encounters that only include sightings or minor hazing incidents," Woolseie said, adding that green incidents generally do not require police response. Woolseie said the policy designates yellow for nuisance behaviors — growling, blinking or chasing — and red for attacks on pets or people, which would prompt police verification and could lead to engaging a licensed trapper.
President Buckley and other board members discussed posting the plan on the village website and aligning the plan’s fencing language with existing local code. One trustee suggested adjusting fencing language to match the code’s six-foot limit; staff said they had checked the code and would harmonize wording.
The board voted to adopt the plan after a motion and second. The motion carried by voice vote; no dissenting votes were recorded. During the discussion a board member joked about extending the intern’s tenure as a friendly amendment; the remark was accepted in good humor.
The policy is administrative and not an ordinance, staff said, and will be used as a public-facing guidance document and to inform police response levels. Officials said the village will promote the guidance via its website and social media and continue coordinating with Milwaukee County resources for coyote reporting.
The board took no formal legislative action beyond adopting the policy; next steps are to publish the document online and implement the public-education elements.
