Hunting & Trapping
Hunting & Trapping
In addition to the political balancing act, Mason will oversee 200+ employees, and a plethora of departmental divisions which range from focus on game management to conservation of endangered species, to land and habitat management, law enforcement, and landowner relations with regard to public use and nuisance wildlife conflict.
A newly published study reveals that river otters (Lontra canadensis) now inhabit most of their historic range in the U.S. and, more importantly, that no states are reporting declining otter populations. In fact, the study reveals the river otter may actually be approaching maximum geographic distribution in the United States.
A proposed ban on regulated beaver trapping in (of all places) “the beaver state” has pitted wildlife officials against animal activists, and science against social discourse. Beavers have long been associated with the early history of Oregon’s settlement, bringing commerce and trade to the region during settlement, and their pelts today still hold value to a determined sector of the state’s citizenry.
Trapping especially has a tendency to be heavily criticized. In contrast, its also an activity that is heavily supported by professionals as an integral tool in the wildlife management playbook. While licensed trappers are often the primary focal point of criticism and scorn, what is NOT often recognized is the working relationship between state agencies, wildlife professionals, licensed trappers, and the general public.
Meandering through the notches and scenic byways in the shadow of the White Mountains gives one time to reflect, ponder, and envision what life would be like in such a remote area. Its hard to imagine that the once pristine and vast wilderness of the Whites (now heavily laden with tourists and recreationalists of all stripes) was once home to many a die-hard yankee - living off the land and its self-reliant spoils.
There have been more than half a dozen fox attacks in the area in just six months, with one unfortunate Bath resident being attacked on two separate occasions. The rash of fox attacks in the mid-coast of Maine has prompted formal action from at least one town, according to reports.
Thanks to a growing supporter-base for our mission, we wanted to look back at our top ten most popular posts and topics of 2019. This list was formulated using analytics from both this website, and our social media platforms, and averaged together to compile our most popular posts of the year in a countdown. So without further ado, we say goodbye to 2019 with a look back at our year in review!
For hunters across the north, deer hunting seasons are wrapping up. But That doesn’t necessarily Signify an end to the pursuits afield. Fur handling is the process of removing a hunted animal’s hide for the usage of the fur pelt. For those species that aren’t commonly hunted for human consumption, the usage of the animal’s hide and other remnants are recognized as an acceptable practice when properly regulated.
Despite the immense benefits regulated hunting promotes, concern over protections for the natural world become more polarized as society drifts farther and farther away from these subsistence activities. This includes any perceived “perversion” of natural resources - backing both the greater hunting community and wildlife management professionals into a corner with regard to what should or should not be tolerated.
Both members of the weasel family, fisher and marten tend to inhabit similar areas within their habitat range while competing with one another over valuable resources and food within that habitat. However, while the larger Fisher has managed to adapt immensely well to agricultural, suburban, and slightly more southern expanses of its home range, the marten is far more fickle with regard to altered habitat impact.
Amid the technology age of satellite mapping and swelling popularity of trail cameras, wildlife experts are still tapping the fur trappers’ knowledge to seek out important data on elusive predators. In Alberta, for example, biologists are looking to gain a better understanding of wolverine distribution across the Canadian province, and reaching back through decades of trapper reports and observations to do it.
Twenty-one trappers have participated in the fisher relocation program, applying their traditional knowledge & skills to assist with the project. Local experienced trappers are often recognized as the fulcrum for conservation projects, especially those involving furbearers such as the Fisher.
While the stereotype of the modern trapper is that of an uneducated redneck with a thirst for the blood of woodland critters, this licensed trapper’s been feeling like a sir. I’ve been busy with a penned tsunami of printed goodness via several different (and well known) publications - both local to New England and abroad.
New Hampshire is fortunate to have a group of sportsmen and women who are passionate about wildlife, conservation and their sport like no other group I have known in three decades as a wildlife biologist in the Granite State. They are this state’s trappers.
After successful fundraising efforts from a dedicated group of local hunters, the NH Wildlife Heritage Foundation secured funding for a comprehensive study to investigate distemper (CDV) impacts on New Hampshire’s furbearers last year. The department initially requested turn-in of carcasses from grey foxes hunted or trapped during the legal hunting and trapping seasons. This year, that study has now expanded to include a desire for carcasses from both Red and Grey Fox, as well as Fisher.
The new study, which has been conducted periodically since 1995, says most people across the nation support hunting, trapping, fishing and sport shooting activities. The study cautions that approval tends to ebb and flow based on the motivations of those who engage in these activities.
Staff members with the Bald Head Island Conservancy worked through the summer to ward off hungry coyotes on sea turtle nests with non-lethal hazing techniques unsuccessfully. The Conservancy now turns to trappers to assist with managing abundant predator populations to conserve endangered species.
The Vermont Trappers Association, a statewide conservation organization with nearly 1,000 members, has made local headlines after the association donated towards the purchase of a 750-acre tract of wilderness known as the Brownsville Forest.
For many in the hunting/conservation worlds, the announcement of Arkansas’ predator permit is a double edged sword. While the permit allows for a restoration of conservation balance, it also raises concerns with the socially perceived wanton waste of natural resources - the furbearers themselves.
For many, the decision came as no surprise, given the historic (and often questionable) legislative decisions and ballot reforms that have plagued "the Sunshine State" for decades. Equally important to note - the recent passage of a ban on trapping is just the first in a line of restrictive animal-use legislation. What does it mean for the citizens of California?
What does the fox say? It depends on which of the 45 subspecies of red fox you ask! As it turns out, an original or “native” red fox subspecies did inhabit montane and glacial areas of North America prior to European settlement; it just wasn’t indigenous to where early settlers were colonizing in the eastern United States.
New writings published in the Science Journal urge governments and policymakers to take account of these findings in the face of high-profile emotionally-driven campaigns that call for bans on the regulated hunting of abundant species.
With the official removal of regulated trapping from California’s landscape, concern over wanton waste of wildlife is now a full reality; with viable usage of a fur-bearing animal’s remains no longer permitted.
While the regulated hunting and harvest of abundant black bear populations relies on conservation-minded modes to administer a selective seasonal hunt, nuisance black bears desperate for a meal or causing public safety issues are dealt with when the damage takes place - regardless of time of year or the scientific merits of removing such individuals from the landscape.
A few years ago I was asked how I thought we could get more people interested in conserving land and water, and my answer was simple. Teach them to hunt, fish, and trap. Give people an activity which intimately connects them to these resources, and then give them a place to do it.
The knee-jerk cliché “they were here first” argument may very well be a valid one, but it detracts from the core issue; how do we continue to live among what has become, for lack of a better term, an evolutionary unprecedented apex predator?
For over a decade, conservationists in Maine have anxiously referenced low deer populations in the Maine Northwoods. According to local hunters, the troubled deer herd appears to be on a slow, but gradual rebound.
An animal rights group in New Hampshire has petitioned the state’s Fish and Game Department over regulations for the hunting of coyotes in the state. The petition comes just a month and a half after the state’s legislators rejected a House Bill seeking to restrict coyote hunting in the state.
To date, Staten Island has invested $4.1 million into their sterilization project, according to reports released Friday. The city hired wildlife contractors White Buffalo to carry out the project in 2016. It would be the world’s first attempt to curb deer by sterilizing only males, according to media reports. The borough’s herd reached approximately 2,053 individuals in 2017 which amounted to an 8,454% increase in less than a decade.
The Furbearer Conservation project is proud to support the efforts of the Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation (CSF) and other conservation-minded partners in encouraging individuals and families to enjoy the outdoors while practicing #ResponsibleRecreation. Conservation funding streams and associated economic benefits are immensely dependent on the public’s willingness and ability to use recreational resources in a responsible manner to ensure these resources are preserved and available in the future.