This commentary is by Cassie Burdyshaw of Warren. She is the Vermont state director for Animal Wellness Action and Center for a Humane Economy.This week (March 17-23) is Coyote Awareness Week. Coyotes are sometimes maligned and misunderstood. Yet, many Vermonters coexist with coyotes in our rural st ate where many backyards are in forest habitat for coyotes and other wildlife.According to the Vermont Fish & Wildlife Department, the eastern coyote first appeared in Vermont in the 1940s, and they play an important role in the ecosystem. While coyotes have only been recorded in Vermont since the 1940s, they have a long history of living alongside humans, even in our urban environments. According to the New York Times Bestselling book “Coyote America,” coyotes lived in the Aztec city of Tenochtitlan, in what is now Mexico City. In fact, a suburb of the Aztec capital was called Coyoacán, or “place of the coyotes.”In Vermont, we’ve honored the coyote not by naming a suburb but by naming a basketball team. This year marks the first season of the Barre-based Coyotes, a minor league team under the American Basketball Association. The team’s name is a reflection of the close presence of coyotes in the lives of Vermonters today.Coyotes benefit our ecosystem by helping to control rodent populations and limiting disease transmission. Vermonters also report that coyotes make them feel closer to nature and enjoy hearing coyotes yip and howl as they establish territory and bond with family.A 2024 study in the journal Conservation Science and Practice showed that some Vermonters expressed concern that coyotes negatively impact Vermont’s deer population. However, the study details that, according to the Vermont Fish & Wildlife Department and scientific studies, this is a misunderstanding, and coyotes do not threaten Vermont’s deer population.Animal Wellness Action Vermont, which works to prevent cruelty to animals, is one of several Vermont organizations celebrating Coyote Awareness Week. As AWA Vermont state director, I’ve heard some Vermonters express a desire to kill as many coyotes as possible. I’m hopeful that with more education and a growing group of people who enjoy viewing wildlife, more people can enjoy sharing the landscape with coyotes instead of viewing them as enemies.Personally, I feel lucky to live in a beautiful setting in the woods, and I’m happy to share this space with coyotes and other wildlife.Read the story on VTDigger here: Cassie Burdyshaw: Coyote Awareness Week. ...read more read less