Originally Posted By: timbercruiser
The idea that the coyote population increases with the available food would make me think that making available plum or other food for them would not be a good idea.


Adding native plum thickets is a habitat improvement that enhances a property for lots of wildlife. Its not just feeding coyotes. If we made a list of all the direct and indirect effects caused from adding plum thickets…then feeding yotes would be one item on a long list of things. Habitat improvements like wild native plum thickets, increases a property’s total potential for wildlife. The habitat is the initial source of energy that drives all of the different cycles happening within it. The more energy you put into the system in the form of food and cover….then the more potential output you get from a total wildlife perspective.

To use some crude numbers to represent what I’m talking about…..its like saying that without plum thickets we have 5 yotes, 10 deer, and 0 quail. With plum thickets we now have 7 yotes, 15 deer and 5 quail. Did the number of yotes increase? Yes…..but it was a result of increasing the potential of the whole system through improving the initial source….the habitat. You could make this analogy with other things too like fire or timber thinning, etc….they increase the initial food and cover sources which in turn increase all wildlife potential. I’d have to think that it’s very unlikely that adding plum thickets is going to have a negative impact

Folks that know don't shoot old does........ wink