Coyote in Hallandale Beach

This week we had some excitement as we became the most recent City in Broward County to have a sighting of a coyote.

Please read and follow the following advice from the experts at the South Florida Wildlife Center about feeding wildlife so we can do our best to avoid coyote issues as a City:
 
"South Florida is a unique place where people from all over prosper as do the many species of animals who called it home first. As the population of humans continues to grow, we find ourselves living amongst our wild neighbors and wanting to find a way to help them since they are so curious and interested in the things we do. Wildlife however is designed to live in these natural environments and have been instilled with ways to hunt, forage, confine to their social standards and find refuge when they need to rest or find a safe place to hide. When people intervene with these natural instincts is when wildlife finds itself in danger. Wild animals who are accustomed to being fed will not develop essential survival skills and are poorly equipped to find basic necessities like food, water, and shelter. The food that humans often feed to wild animals, like bread, is actually nutritionally poor and can cause severe health issues for animals including physical deformities. Nature, however, contains a perfect assortment of nutrient-rich foods for wild animals. Without the presence of handouts, animals will not starve but rather thrive on a natural diet like they are meant to. Feeding wildlife and desensitizing animals to be fearless of humans and approach people for food, are sometimes mistaken as rabid or aggressive, then killed for that behavior. Wild animals who are accustomed to being fed cluster unnaturally and become vulnerable to highly contagious and often deadly diseases. Diseases like distemper, rabies, botulism, salmonella, trichomoniasis, and pox can quickly wipe out hundreds of animals. Diseases caused by unsanitary bird feeders kill thousands of birds, squirrels, reptiles, and other animals every year. The best thing you can do to ensure the health and wellbeing of wild animals is to avoid feeding them and to observe and appreciate them from a safe distance. If you enjoy watching wildlife, there are many local parks where you can observe hundreds of species of wildlife in their natural habitats. If you are looking for another way to get closer to wildlife, please consider volunteering with the South Florida Wildlife Center in Fort Lauderdale. Please share this information with your family, friends, and neighbors. Thank you for helping to keep our local wildlife safe and wild!" - Carolina Segarra from the South Florida Wildlife Center

Since at least 2007, coyotes have been found in all of Florida’s 67 counties. Coyotes arrived in Florida as part of a natural range expansion from western states and they now live in every state except Hawaii. The coyote found in Hallandale Beach appeared to be injured and was taken for medical care at the South Florida Wildlife Center. The coyote is doing well and is under observation with an anticipated release into a natural area in the next few days.
 
For more information about coyotes, you can attend an upcoming virtual “Living with Coyotes” workshop on Tuesday, March 30^th at 7 pm. Register for the virtual workshop here. You can also find a number of resources on the Fish & Wildlife Conservation’s Coyote Website.

Other ways to support wildlife

The City of Hallandale Beach is home to many species of wildlife, including a number of fox families, many species of songbirds, and butterflies. While we discourage the feeding of wildlife, we do encourage habitat building for our wildlife friends. For many years the City has been working to attain certification as a National Wildlife Federation Community Wildlife Habitat. We need 100 more certified yards in the City to finally achieve this certification. Will you help us reach our goal? Learn about what is needed to certify your yard as a wildlife habitat here or here.  
 
You can also participate in a citizen science challenge taking place from April 30 through May 9 called the City Nature Challenge. For this challenge, you simply need to take pictures of wild plants and animals and upload them to a smartphone app called iNaturalist. Scientists all over the world use the data collected through the iNaturalist app. This challenge is a great way to have some socially-distant competition among friends, neighbors, and family members, and all for a great cause!

Help us with the City's Climate Action Plan

45% by 2030, that’s the goal for the City's first Climate Action Plan. How would you like us to get there? We will only know if you tell us. Share your thoughts, concerns, and priorities with us – there are no bad ideas. We’re still gathering your input on actions and details before we put together the first draft. If you need some inspiration, we recommend taking a look at Project Drawdown. Get engaged on www.haveyoursayhallandale.org between now and May to ensure your ideas make it in our first Climate Action Plan!

Mark your calendars for a public meeting about the Climate Action Plan

After we receive all your feedback by the end of May for the Climate Action Plan, we will be putting together a draft of the Plan. We will bring that draft to our community through a virtual meeting on June 21, 2021 at 5:30 PM. Get the link for the zoom and more information here. We really want this Plan to be something we create together, so please share your ideas between now and May and attend the meeting in June to give us feedback on what we've created so far.

Sea Turtle Nesting Season

Sea Turtle Nesting Season started on March 1 in Broward County. During Sea Turtle Season there are many things you can to do support these endangered animals:

• Keep the beach dark. Shield or turn off any lights that can be seen onto the beach. This includes interior lights from buildings on the barrier island, as well as outdoor lighting.
• Keep beaches clear of marine debris or trash that a sea turtle could get entangled in or eat.
• Remember that plastic bags, plastic straws, balloons, and Styrofoam of any kind are not allowed on beaches within City limits.
• Fill in any holes and knock over sandcastles when you leave the beach. These can be obstacles for nesting turtles or emerging hatchlings.
• If you see a dead, sick, or injured sea turtle or hatchling(s) in Broward County call 954-328-0580.
• Realize that sea turtles are endangered species and that even touching them without the proper permits could be considered against the Endangered Species Act. When in doubt, call the Broward Sea Turtle Conservation Program at 954-328-0580.
• Be patient with us regarding sargassum seaweed management. Our equipment is not allowed on the beach until the daily sea turtle surveys have been completed during sea turtle nesting season. This may result in delays in us getting the beach tractor on the beach.
• Reduce your personal plastic consumption and waste. We use plastic for seconds, but it takes thousands of years for it to break down. 

Get in touch or involved with Green Initiatives

If you're interested in learning more about Green Initiatives or if you want to get more involved, please reach out to our Green Initiatives Coordinator Alyssa Jones Wood at ajoneswood@cohb.org and visit cohb.org/green.