In 2006, the cities of Terrebonne and Repentigny contracted the consulting firm, Chamard & Associés to find solutions for reducing problems associated with the presence of gulls in their surroundings. The main conclusion of the report was that an integrated and regional approach was required. A regional coordination committee for the management of gulls was then established in 2007. The stakeholders include several elected councillors and employees of nearby cities and municipalities, two owners of landfill sites, a representative of the Union des producteurs agricoles (UPA) and a biologist from Environment Canada, responsible for enforcing the Migratory Birds Convention Act.

The working group coordinated by Chamard & Associés concluded that the lack of scientific information about the ecology of Ring-billed gulls precluded drafting of a management plan. Researchers from UQAM and other Quebec universities then proposed to design a research project to study the behavior of Ring-billed Gulls in urban and suburban areas within an integrated management framework. With the contribution of several partners and a research grant from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (CRSNG), a vast study on the behavior of Ring-billed gulls was conducted between 2009 and 2012 in the greater Montreal area. Some research projects are still ongoing and deal with the population dynamics of these birds, their post-breeding dispersal, and roof-nesting. A study on the exposure of Ring-billed Gulls to emergent contaminants such as flame retardants is also currently conducted with a grant from the Fonds de recherche du Québec Nature et technologies (FRQNT).