Imagine the surprise of the residents along Martha Ann in Rossmoor when they heard  “Our maintenance crews went out and inspected our right of ways in and around the 605/405 interchange, just as recently as August 6, and weren’t able to find any evidence of any actively occupied coyote dens, or of any coyotes living in that area,” Caltrans spokeswoman Tracey Lavelle told OC180NEWS. Now, thanks to the efforts of Rebecca and Dave Lara and their Rossmoor Predator Management Team, RPMT, Caltrans is clearing out the overgrown brush along the 605 freeway and right behind the back wall of Rossmoor.

The RPMT, a citizens group in the unincorporated Orange County community of Rossmoor, has been trying since May to get somebody in government to take accountability for at least part of the coyote problem plaguing the neighborhood. Unlike the adjacent cities of Seal Beach and Los Alamitos, where the city managers can simply pick up the phone and do something about their coyote problems, unincorporated areas of Orange County are not so lucky.

With local residents enduring coyote yelps and howls, coyote stare downs, and numerous coyote sightings in the area documented by the RPMT, the assertion by Caltrans that no coyotes were living along the 605 overgrown foliage must have seemed by residents of Rossmoor to border on the ridiculous. Of course the problem of urban coyotes is nothing new, but many observers of local coyote activity and behavior believe the numbers of coyotes are increasing and their behavior is becoming more aggressive. Thus, with a major freeway construction project about to break ground and potentially disrupt coyote habitat, RPMT members Rebecca and Dave Lara were even more concerned.

One of the recommendations given by wildlife experts is to keep foliage trimmed in order to avoid providing a comfortable hiding place for coyote dens. But, until some strongly worded prodding by Rebecca Lara, Caltrans was reluctant to clean up overgrowth on the freeway right-of-ways, which is, of course, their property.

After tons of messages, phone calls, documentary photographs, and cataloged pet attacks and sightings, the efforts of Rebecca and Dave Lara, their photographer Ron Singer, and the rest of the RPMT, are starting to yield results. Although Caltrans spokesperson Tracey Lavelle did not return several phone calls, she did issue a statement which reads in part:

“The California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) has begun clearing brush in Rossmoor at the Interstate 605 (I-605) and Interstate 405 (I-405) connector in response to a request from the Rossmoor Predator Management Team (RPMT).

This section of Caltrans’ right-of-way is currently a buffer between the freeways and Rossmoor residents’ homes, but at times has also been used as a corridor for transient coyotes moving throughout the Rossmoor community.

“Caltrans is clearing out as much ground brush and debris as possible to respond to the RPMT’s concerns about the transient coyotes traveling through the area,” said Caltrans District Director Cindy Quon.

Further measures are forthcoming in this area of right-of-way. As part of the Orange County Transportation Authority’s upcoming West County Connector project, vegetation will be cleared in the interchange and existing trees that abut the northbound I-405 will be removed or pruned.

This work will improve the appearance and visibility of the landscaping.”

While this work is a first step, it certainly is not the end of the local coyote problem. Stay tuned to OC180NEWS for our next installment in this continuing saga.