Getting trapped in the contoversy over trapping

Let’s talk about a controversial subject here in the Valley – trapping!

Most of the trapping seasons opened on Nov. 10, but a few were already going and a couple of others won’t open until mid-December. Be sure to pick up a copy of the 2015-2016 Alaska trapping regulations booklet if you plan to do some trapping or if you intend to recreate in known trapping areas.

That’s the controversy — non-trappers using the same areas where one or more trappers have made sets to harvest the various species of animals allowed under the trapping regulations. We are all familiar with the annual media story of somebody’s dog being caught in a trap or snare set in an area popularly used by the public.

Usually, when the facts are made known in these situations, both parties are at fault. The story generally goes something like this.

Joe and Jill Public and their kids were out skiing a local trail and Fido, who was running loose and unleashed, suddenly seemed to just disappear. After an hour of frantic searching, the dog was found caught in a trap or snare. If the owner is lucky, the dog is released basically unharmed. We all know the other alternatives which are too often the actual outcome. Either way, another family is turned against the management tool of trapping.

OK, who’s at fault here?

First, the recreating family failed to control their pet by having it on a leash. I know, everybody claims the dog was under voice command, but really, how many of us own pets that instantaneously respond to voice commands while out “playing” on a family trip?

If we’re truly honest, very few can answer affirmatively here.

How about the trapper? In my opinion, the trapper should never have made sets in or near a known, popular, developed, and frequently used recreation site. The trapper should concentrate their efforts in more remote and difficult to access locations which would generally not be used by non-trappers.

This last statement, however, doesn’t mean only wilderness locations. I can think of several specific spots within a mile of my house where traps could be set with little concern about interfering with someone’s outdoor recreational plans. Some of these locations involve water sets for beaver, otter, or mink. Done properly, specific types of water sets target only the intended species and usually are undetectable to the untrained eye. For that reason, the trapping I have done since moving to the Valley has all involved water sets.

When I lived on Afognak Island, I was the only person who trapped the surrounding few miles around the fish hatchery where I worked. Everybody kept their dogs under control (foxes and bears eat dogs), so I didn’t have that concern. I also didn’t have to worry about trap thieves, a common problem here in the Valley as I understand things!

I trapped beaver, otter, marten, and fox with an occasional muskrat just for good measure. I almost always made water sets for both beaver and otter. All my marten sets, eventually, were at least 5 feet off the ground in a box and I used the Conibear-style trap (a killer trap) to be sure the three aforementioned species were quickly dispatched. I lost one marten from a ground set to a fox and another, hanging almost six-feet off the ground, to a brown bear in mid-December.

Who’d of thunk!

I learned to conceal my trap sets, not because of human thieves, but because of the fox and bear episodes and a rather slow-to-learn bald eagle working an elevated marten set one day. My fox sets were normally ground sets using leghold traps, but I was very careful where these were placed in relation to the trails commonly used by folks and their dogs living at the hatchery. I would also tell the other folks if I had a set in a general area so they were aware if they decided to wander out that direction.

Wildlife management is a complex science/art. Any time species numbers are manipulated by man, the effects will ripple into the other species in the area. Oftentimes, that ripple requires regulation of predatory as well as prey species. Other species can cause damage with their activities (beaver) or destruction of important fish numbers (otter and mink). Most of the species involved in trapping are not easily hunted. Done ethically and humanely, trapping is a valuable management tool.

Trappers need to practice ethical and humane trapping techniques.