FOUNTAIN VALLEY

The nature area at Mile Square Regional Park will remain closed for the next few weeks as a biologist studies the red foxes there and determines if they should be killed or relocated, a county official said. “There’s a possibility that the foxes could remain in the nature area temporarily and move back to the new golf course when it’s completed,” said Rich Adler, a county planner. “The biologist will determine whether they will be able to coexist with the golfers.”

The biologist, Dan Fox, is also president of Animal Pest Management, a company that works with the state Department of Fish and Game to manage pests in parks. Fox will count the nocturnal animals at sunrise and study their dens and tracks to determine their behavior. If they are killing endangered species in local wildlife refuges or cats and dogs in residential areas, they will have to be killed, he said.