In Centennial, a unique cooperative effort with the WildEarth Guardians environmental advocacy group is working to find and train volunteers who will teach residents about coexisting with coyotes.

Dr. Nicole Rosmarino, wildlife program director for WildEarth Guardians is organizing training of volunteers in the program. Members walk parks and open space areas, often looking for coyotes to haze them - scare them away so they feel less comfortable around people.

Coyotes are usually spotted more in fall and especially winter, when the cover is sparse, and the training will involved learning to deal with coyotes properly - including hazing them to avoid the kind of familiarity that erodes their fear of humans, leads to conflicts and too often, death for the coyote.

They are hard to spot right now, Rosmarino said.

"The plant cover is so lush, coyotes are hard to spot and we want to be fully organized in the fall and winter, when the opportunity for potential conflicts is higher,"

Rosmarino says a three-pronged approach is used in the process.

"Education, reshaping coyote behavior through education and equipping landowners with information on how to keep coyotes out of the backyard," she said

Those resources can include motion sprinklers and lights or even a 'coyote roller' on fences that prevents them from being able to top a tall fence.

Centennial resident Yvonne Gorman, a WildEarth Guardians member and volunteer, said she originally chose to get involved in the hazing program "because I didn't agree with the killing tactics being used by the City of Greenwood Village."

"One of the many things I love about Colorado, is the wildlife. I don't think it is right for people to keep expanding, yet quickly punish wildlife for simply trying to survive," Gorman said.

"I am proud and excited that the City of Centennial wants to humanely manage coyotes and I want it to stay that way. If we can successfully educate our city with informational handouts, whistles, etc... I'm hoping that other cities will also want to establish a respectful coexistence with coyotes and other wildlife," she added.

What's needed, Gorman said, are more volunteers with the same vision.

Rosmarino said the recent controversy over the Greenwood Village approach has also lead to efforts at hazing coyotes there, but said the policy adopted in March still "allows them to kill any coyote in the village anytime, for any reason."

Rosmarinopoints outthat doesn't work because of the so-called "boomerang effect," with coyote packs breaking into smaller family groups, producing larger litters and actually increasing the number of coyotes in a given area.

"Part of our job is to inform the public that these animals belong here, we cannot eliminate them, nor should we want to, because of the very important role they play in the ecosystem ..." she said.

That role includes keeping down smaller predators that can have a big impact on bird populations. Domestic cats let loose also are responsible for killing millions of wild birds each year.

Rosmarino says she applauds the Centennial approach, saying the city council was very responsive to the issue and the science of ways to manage coyotes and has been very fiscally responsible by partnering with groups such as WildEarth Guardians.

Tips for avoiding coyote conflicts and keeping pets safe are available at the Centennial Web site, www.centennialcolorado.com, as well as WildEarth Guardians site: www.wildearthguardians.org.