Helping people and animals happily coexist

Feature story When wildlife makes the news in our city, it’s often not good news. We hear reports of seemingly aggressive coyotes, beaver dams causing waterflow issues and bird strikes on windows. The City’s new Wildlife Resources Coordinator, Dom Ferland, aims to change that. Not only will he work on human-wildlife conflict resolution but will also advance strategies to prevent those conflicts in the first place.  Dom started at the City in January 2025, bringing with him years of related experience from the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources and the National Capital Commission. He has a Master of Science degree in animal ecology and behaviour and an appreciation of the natural riches found within Ottawa.     “I moved to Ottawa when I was 10 years old and almost immediately noticed all the greenspace and wildlife right in the city,” he recalls. “I think the move here influenced me to become a biologist.”    The primary role of the Wildlife Resources Coordinator is to implement the City’s Wildlife Strategy. Some of the top priorities include alternative ways to manage beavers and coyotes within our boundaries.     In the winter months, when snow is everywhere and waterways are mostly frozen, Dom’s role is more of an inside job, researching, coordinating opportunities with other departments and organizations and mapping out his plans in the field. With the thaw, he’s on the road. “As soon as I can I’ll be traveling all over Ottawa to inspect and inventory beaver sites.”    Dom works in the Natural Systems branch of Climate Change & Resiliency, which is part of the City’s Strategic Initiative department. But when it comes to beavers, it’s a multi-department, collaborative effort since their activity can impact our roadways, stormwater facilities and parks.     Dom also works closely with external organizations. He’s creating a community working group to improve public information, outreach and education. As well, there are projects with individual groups, such as with Coyote Watch Canada to implement a more proactive approach to managing human-coyote conflicts. Dom is also collaborating with data specialists at the City to develop a geospatial database (a database that includes geographic information) to monitor coyote movement.    Residents can already see Wildlife Strategy benefits around town in the bird-safe design guidelines implemented. For example, Ādisōke, the new Ottawa Public Library, has bird-safe windows.    What does the Wildlife Resource Coordinator not do? “I’m not responsible for responding to large mammals in the city such as bear, deer or moose.” Dom also isn’t a resource when it comes to problems with small mammals, such as squirrels, raccoons or skunks. Property owners are responsible for those, although there are some cases when 3-1-1 should be contacted.    “I made the career move to the City of Ottawa” explains Dom, “because it has a great reputation as an employer. I’m learning a lot about municipal government and find it’s easy get decisions made and work done. I like that I can connect so directly with people in my community. I’m hoping to help others appreciate our abundant wildlife and for humans and wildlife to safely co-exist here.”     Who knows, maybe Dom’s work will inspire other 10-year-olds to become future biologists and City employees.    Interested in regular updates on the work of our Natural Systems group? Sign up for our Climate Change newsletter.    Related topics

• Wildlife Strategy