You are absolutely correct that coyotes will greatly suppress Red Fox populations, something that happened in my area of eastern New York many years ago. At the moment the Coyote population is down and Red Foxes are rebounding. Coyotes have also severely suppressed Wood Chuck numbers, especially in open fields. Far fewer than there once were. This has also effected Cottontail Rabbit numbers because the rabbits used abandoned 'chuck dens and now there are not so many. Everything in nature is interrelated. Bobcat's are increasing also, and I believe that may be because they have found a new food source in the last 20 years or so here, namely Turkeys. This makes some sense because it appears that small game numbers otherwise are way down.

Then what happens when wolves enter the picture and start killing the coyotes and then the equation starts getting real complex.

Part of the life cycle of the Lyme tick is that they need to be underground. This part was attributed to the mouse. Interesting that a denning animal such as the red fox or coyote would add to the tick problem.

I agree that more aggressive coyote control in most parts of the country would be a very good thing. But in duck producing parts of the country, such as the Prairie Pothole region, decreasing coyote numbers can actually negatively affect ducks. The reason is because, as discussed, coyotes have a great affect on red fox numbers and red foxes are a lot more detrimental to nesting ducks. Foxes are a lot better at finding duck eggs and taking out hens. Coyotes are not nearly as detrimental to ducks. So for the states and the parts of Canada in the prairie pothole, region, more coyotes can actually be good for ducks. That is the problem about assuming that ecological problems and proposed "solutions" only have an affect on the issue at hand. In fact, meddling with mother nature can have many unseen consequences and the "solution" can sometimes cause more problems than the original problem.

Yeah just when you get good news, bad news will follow. There is a new study that a bite from the Lone Star Tick has triggered a reaction in some people. Making them allergic to Red Meat. It makes individuals break out in hives after ingesting any red meat. Sounds like a Vegan conspiracy but it's true.

The Catch 22, because coyotes kill nesting predators their has also been an increase in pheasant and quail numbers. I do not hunt the coyote because i want upland birds to increase!

Tick, Tick, Tick. You guys are probably right but here in NE Ohio the redfox population seems to be increasing. I spend a lot of time in the outdoors and I see more foxes than say 5 years ago, yet the tick population is getting worse. in years past the tick population was not all that bad but in recent years they have increased dramatically. I can no longer hunt rabbits and such without taking precautions to guard my dogs and myself from ticks in areas that I have hunted for many years and never saw a tick
We hunt woodchucks during the summer and we have noticed an increase in the tick population. my sister in law came down with lyme disease 2 years ago and the local vetenarnian told me that the disease is defintely on the rise.
Is it too early to talk about deer. I have aquired access to 500 acres from my nephew's father in law. we have been there twice hunting ground hogs and have seen 5 deer. 3 of them were bucks in velvet. One was a huge buck with a great set of antlers. It pays to keep your eyes open at all time.