The Nichols Hills City Council adopted the 2026 Nichols Hills Coyote Conflict Management Plan in October, according to a city news post dated October 15. The post says the plan covers sightings, pet attacks and aggressive behavior and aims to "balance human safety with regional ecology." The full document runs about twenty pages, but one measurement comes up again and again. Six feet. That is the leash length the plan names, the fence height it starts from, and the distance that separates two very different kinds of incident.
The plan arrived in the middle of what it calls dispersal season, and the next season on its calendar is the one where the six-foot rule matters most. Most of the plan's work happens at home, on the leash and in the backyard.
Six feet of leash decides how an incident is classified
The plan's guidance for dogs is specific. A dog should be on a leash six feet long or shorter, or its owner should stay within six feet of it. The plan explains why: a coyote may treat a dog on a longer leash as an unattended pet. Retractable leashes that let a dog range ten or fifteen feet ahead fall outside that guidance.
The six feet also matter for how an incident is classified. Nichols Hills says on the cover of its plan that it adopted the document from the Humane Society of the United States. The Humane Society model ranks coyote behavior on a scale. Each step up the scale changes the recommended response:
| What happens | Model classification | Recommended response |
|---|---|---|
| Coyote heard, or scat or prints seen | Observation | Educational materials on normal coyote behavior |
| Coyote moving through, or entering a yard with no one present | Sighting | Education, hazing information, a yard audit |
| Coyote following or approaching a person, or a person and pet, with no incident | Encounter | Hazing education, attractant removal, signs in open areas |
| Coyote injures or kills an unattended pet in a backyard | Unattended Pet Attack | Gather details, educate on attractants and pet management, yard audit |
| Coyote injures or kills a pet on leash, with a person within six feet | Attended Pet Attack | Area audit, resident outreach, and high-intensity hazing by animal control or police |
In the model, the same loss gets a different response depending on where the owner was standing. A pet attacked alone in a backyard leads to education and a yard audit. A pet attacked on a short leash, with its owner close by, is the first point where the model calls for trained officers to use high-intensity hazing. The Nichols Hills plan follows the same pattern. It says basic hazing is something anyone can do, and it reserves high-intensity hazing for trained professionals such as animal control and police officers, used in specific areas and for more serious incidents.
Basic hazing, as the plan describes it, means facing the coyote, making yourself look "big and loud," waving your arms, making noise or spraying water. It is the expected response to a coyote that lingers near the sidewalk.
Why January is the month the plan is pointing toward
The plan divides the coyote year into three seasons. Each one changes what the six-foot guidance is protecting against.
| Season | Months | What the plan says is happening |
|---|---|---|
| Breeding | January through March | Breeding pairs defend territory. Rare attacks on larger dogs mostly happen in this window. |
| Pup | April through August | Pups are born, typically in April or May, and stay in a den for about six weeks |
| Dispersal | September through December | Yearlings leave the family group and wander as transients looking for new territory |
By the time this post publishes, Nichols Hills is in the second half of dispersal season. Young coyotes without a territory are moving through. That explains why a coyote might show up on a street where nobody has seen one before.
Breeding season begins in January. The plan is direct about it. Attacks on large dogs are rare, it says, but coyotes will sometimes go after one when they feel their territory is threatened, "generally" during breeding season. In that window, it says, dogs should not be left outside unattended and should be on leashes of six feet or shorter in public areas.
The time of day matters as well. The plan describes coyotes as most active at dawn and dusk and says they often shift toward nighttime activity in urban and suburban areas to avoid people. In January in Oklahoma, the hours around dusk overlap with the after-work dog walk.
What the city picks up, and what stays with the household
The plan's clearest limit is on what the city itself will collect. "Nichols Hills Animal Welfare only picks up wild animals that are injured or have bitten someone," the plan says. For wildlife removal, it tells residents to contact a private service.
The plan also sets a high bar for removal. Lethal control should be considered only after an unprovoked, confirmed attack on a human, and only against the coyote or coyotes involved. The plan gives a reason. Research shows that when coyotes are killed, the population shows a "rebound effect": more females breed and litters get larger. It also reprints Nichols Hills City Code Sec. 6-87, which makes it unlawful to "hunt, trap, injure or kill any wild or domestic Animal or birds within the City."
With removal mostly ruled out, nearly all of the prevention happens on private property. The plan's list of attractants is the to-do list:
- Never feed coyotes deliberately, and don't feed pets outdoors.
- Secure compost and garbage, and put trash at the curb only on the morning of collection.
- Pick up fallen fruit under trees.
- Clean up bird seed, which draws the small mammals coyotes hunt.
Fencing comes with exact numbers. A coyote-proof fence is at least eight feet tall in a material coyotes can't climb, or at least six feet tall with a device on top such as a coyote roller. To stop digging, the fence should go at least twelve inches underground or have an L-shaped mesh apron extending at least 18 inches out, held down with landscape staples. A standard six-foot privacy fence on a Nichols Hills lot meets the minimum height only if it has a topper.
For cats, the plan says keeping them indoors, or outside only in a secure enclosure or on a leash and harness, is the only way to protect them. It treats coyote attacks on cats and on unattended small dogs as normal coyote behavior that does not signal danger to people.
The plan also reprints two dog rules from the city code. Sec. 6-125 requires dogs to be kept on the owner's premises by a fence, a building or a leash, and to stay behind the front wall of the main building. Sec. 6-88 requires that every animal bite be reported to the city's Animal Control Officer.
Where a sighting goes once you report it
The plan's response scale depends on reports. It says monitoring works best with input from residents and city officials, and it includes a standard Coyote Activity Report Form in Appendix A. Reports should include the date, time, name, address and phone number of the person reporting, plus details of what happened. The stated goal is to find hotspots so the city can send postcards or put up signs in the areas with the most activity.
For a non-emergency, the city's online Animal Complaint form is the general option. It doesn't have a coyote-specific category. For an emergency or a hazardous animal, the form says to call 911 or 405-843-5672. The plan lists two contacts:
- Nichols Hills Public Works, 1009 NW 75th St., 405-843-5222, open Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.
- WildCare Oklahoma in Noble, 405-872-9338, open daily 9 a.m. to 7 p.m.
The city has given this advice before. In May 2024, OKC Friday reported that Nichols Hills approved an earlier nine-page Coyote Management Plan, also based on Humane Society material. Council member Steve Goetzinger requested it after coyotes were reported in the city. City Manager Shane Pate told the paper at the time, "We encourage residents to call our animal welfare department if they have a coyote sighting to report. Or call WildCare Oklahoma if after the city's business hours." The 2026 version keeps the same Humane Society base and the same two contacts. It is longer and adds a conflict classification section, a guide to running a community hazing program and a yard audit checklist.
City Hall leadership is also changing. In a letter posted to the city's news page, Pate announced he will step down as city manager effective December 31, 2026, and that Dave Slezickey will take over on January 1, 2027. The new city manager starts in the same month breeding season begins.
This post summarizes the city's published plan and the code sections it reprints. It is general information, not legal advice. Confirm questions about fencing, removal or your own property with the City of Nichols Hills or the right professional.
Fences, outdoor lighting and the way a backyard is set up are part of how a Nichols Hills home works every day, and they also come up when a home is sold. If you're thinking about how your property is set up for the season ahead, or what that setup means for its value, David Oliver Real Estate Group is glad to talk it through, starting with a complimentary home valuation.
