The ITP comes on the heels of several lawsuits from animal rights groups to attempt to limit trapping in Maine.

If issued, the Incidental Take Permit would last for a 15 year period.

A brief review of what the document means to Maine’s trapping program can be read by clicking here.

Click here to read the full ITP document.

The USFWS Draft EA can be found here.

The USFWS is accepting public comment on the ITP application through February 7, 2012.  Comments can be mailed in or emailed to: hcpmainetrapping@fws.gov

Several public meetings have already been held, but public comment is still being accepted.  See the press release below:

News Release Contact:
11/08/2011 USFWS, Meagan Racey, 413-253-8558/413-658-4386
MDIFW, Walter Jakubas, 207-941-4471
Wildlife agencies announce request for lynx permit
Public invited to comment on draft plan for Maine trapping program
The Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife has applied to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for a permit to authorize incidental take of federally protected Canada lynx resulting from the state-regulated trapping program.
The Service invites the public to comment on MDIFW’s draft incidental take plan, a requirement for the permit. The Service also invites comment on its draft environment assessment for MDIFW’s application.
The Endangered Species Act makes it illegal to “take”—meaning trap, capture, harass, harm or kill—federally threatened or endangered wildlife, such as the threatened Canada lynx. Some legal activities, such as trapping, have the risk of incidentally taking protected species. An incidental take permit allows for those activities to continue, as long as the permittee undertakes reasonable and practical measures to avoid, minimize and mitigate take of listed species.
“The incidental take permit that MDIFW has applied for should provide assurance to Maine’s trapping community and the general public that trappers can continue to pursue their avocation in northern Maine without detriment to the state’s lynx population,” said Wally Jakubas, MDIFW Mammal Group leader.
Incidental take plans, known also as habitat conservation plans, identify the impacts to wildlife from a project or program; the steps the applicant will take to reduce or compensate for such impacts; what alternative actions were considered; and how conservation efforts will be funded.
“Habitat conservation plans provide frameworks for partnerships in endangered species conservation,” said Paul Phifer, assistant regional director for the Service’s Northeast Region Ecological Services program. “The measures in this plan will help both agencies continue to protect lynx across the state for the benefit of future generations.”
The Service and MDIFW will hold informational sessions on the draft plan and related assessment in December:

December 13 at University of Maine at Presque Isle, 181 Maine Street, Presque Isle, 04769 (Grand Ballroom—Allagash and Aroostook rooms); 207-768-9502
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December 14 at Black Bear Inn, 4 Godfrey Drive, Orono, 04473; 207-866-7120
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December 15 at University of Southern Maine in Gorham, 37 College Avenue, Gorham, 04038 (Bailey Hall); 207-780-5961
The Service and MDIFW are accepting written comments on the draft plan and environmental assessment through February 7, 2012. After the comment period ends, the Service will determine whether the application meets the permit issuance requirements. Send comments to hcpmainetrapping@fws.gov or to the Service’s Maine Field Office at 17 Godfrey Drive, Suite 2, Orono, Maine 04473. Comments sent through U.S. mail should be postmarked no later than February 7, 2012, to be considered

Click here for a shortened explanation of the highlights of the ITP. You are encouraged to provide comments on the plan.  Remember, these can be submitted to hcpmainetrapping@fws.gov.

Fox and coyote trapping could soon become legal in Surry County, North Carolina.  County commissioners have approved a request to the state legislature to allow the activity.

Similar actions have taken place in Almance and Forsyth counties.  North Carolina has statewide trapping regulations, but counties have the ability to open or extend previously closed seasons by working with the state legislature.

Many local residents see the need for trapping to control predatory coyotes and foxes.  Trappers are welcoming the new season, which would allow them to help landowners control predator problems where they have thus far been restricted from doing so.

Read the local story here.

*Update: Rockingham County is looking at making similar changes to their trapping regulations.

Texas isn’t the only place river otters are making a comeback.  The recovery of otter populations in a number of states across the nation has been an exciting trend, and is opening up the opportunity for responsibly regulated trapping seasons.

Just recently, wildlife officials in the state of West Virginia announced their plans to allow the trapping of river otters beginning in the 2011-2012 trapping season.

Rich Rogers, furbearer project leader for the Division of Natural Resources, said recent research showed that otters had become abundant enough to be trapped.

“We had known how widely they had spread throughout the state, but we didn’t know if there were enough individuals to support a trapping season,” Rogers said. “We finally got the data we needed to make a decision on that.”

Click here to read more about the otter recovery and the proposed trapping season.

Concerns over trapping non-target animals motivated the original bill’s passing, but problems with flooding and land damage have proven the need for trapping to resume in these areas.  Individual counties still have the right to ban roadside trapping within their jurisdictional areas.

Read the AP story here.

On a related note, Nebraska’s KOTA News site posted the story on their site with an absolutely outrageous opening line:

YOU HAD BETTER WATCH YOUR STEP WHILE TAKING A WALK IN THE COUNTRYSIDE FROM NOW ON.

TODAY STATE LAWMAKERS GAVE FINAL APPROVAL TO A BILL THAT WILL ALLOW TRAPPERS TO CATCH VARMINTS IN NEBRASKA’S ROADSIDE DITCHES.

The ingnorance in this statement is absolutely unbelievable, and leads an unknowing public to believe that it is now dangerous to ‘walk in the countryside’ because trapping is legal here.

Trapping poses no public safety hazard, despite what KOTA would have you believe.

Also, the majority of the active public does not spend their free time walking around roadside ditches.  Instead, they frequent hiking trails and more peaceful, pleasant locations, which trappers tend to avoid.

KOTA’s statement is ignorant and malicious and shows absolutely no journalistic integrity.

Kudos to Senator Mark Christensen for introducing and fighting for the new bill, and shame on KOTA for some of the worst reporting I’ve seen in some time.

The Alaska Board of Game, which makes decisions on hunting and trapping regulations in the state, began a two-week meeting this past Friday to debate over 200 wildlife management proposals, one of which directly involves wolverine trapping.

Alaska’s Chugach State Park, outside of Anchorage, was opened to wolverine trapping in 2007.  Since then, 10 wolverines have been harvested in the area, a number that the Alaska Department of Fish and Game thinks is too many.

A new proposal now in front of the Board of Game would overturn this ruling and again restrict wolverine trapping in the park.

Trappers argue that if harvest were the main concern, the Department should consider shortening the season, rather than eliminating trapping in the park.

After hearing testimony and discussion, the Board is expected to make a decision over the next few days.

Read the news story here.

Individuals in Alamance County, North Carolina are pushing for the extension of a fox trapping law that has helped protect landowners from property damage since its inception in 2006. The ‘local bill’ applies on the county level and allows for a longer fox trapping season than statewide regulations allow.

The current local bill, which expired Jan. 31, 2008, extended the fox trapping season to include the months of October, November and December. Many locals hope the bill is renewed. Fox are considered a nuisance in many rural areas, and while trapping has not been shown to drastically reduce their numbers, it is often effective at controlling animals causing damage and keeping populations at healthy levels.

Trappers get calls from landowners to trap their property for a variety of reasons.

Some are from farmers with crop damage. Other calls come from livestock producers who want to protect chickens and other fowl, or their populations of game animals like rabbits and squirrels.
“A lot of landowners want to protect their rabbits and quails,” Keck said.
Still others, Keck said, come from folks who spot foxes in their yards and worry about rabies.

Body gripping traps have revolutionized trapping because they provide a quick, clean kill for most furbearers.  Unfortunately, they sometimes have the potential to kill the occasional pet, when set in the wrong place.  Trappers should always be aware of the potential for catching non-target critters and pets, and try to avoid such situations so that these regulations are not neccessary. 

The emergency rules require specific dog-proof cubby sets when using body grippers, as well as a minimum setback distance from public hiking trails, among other specifics.  The rules will be extended for about two months, and comments will be reviewed and permanent regulations put in place.

Read the list of emergency regulations here

State Agrees to Restrict Trapping to Protect Threatened Lynx

Sportsmen Settle Suit and Protect Trapping in Maine

The results of the settlement have been sort of a mixed bag for trappers.  On the one hand, trapping in northern Maine can continue.  On the other, however, trappers have had to give up some important tools and methods, even though trapping has only resulted in two dead lynx in Maine, compared to 11 killed by automobiles. 

As a result of the lawsuit, the use of conibears on the ground has been prohibited, except in certain cases.  Furthermore, the most effective coyote traps (traps with a jaw spread of over 5 3/8″) are no longer allowed in northern Maine. 

One of the many problems I see with this is that restricting the use of these traps will make it harder for trappers to catch coyotes, and coyotes compete with lynx for a common food source, especially during winters with little snow. 

The bottom line is that research has shown that lynx populations are driven primarily by the snowshoe hare cycle, and most lynx deaths are a result of starvation.  In addition, fishers have been documented killing a number of lynx, and the state has taken measures to reduce fisher catch because of concern for declining fisher populations.  So we’re changing laws that may result in an increase in species that cause detriment to lynx populations.  But hey, we reduced the chances of killing 2 lynx over the next 10 years by restricting the rights of trappers.  Smart.

See more on the issue from Tom Remington’s Black Bear Blog here and here

The New York State Trappers Association supported the regulations, and encouraged their trappers to make sets that avoid the potential to catch dogs even before the new rules were in place.  The regulations were already in the rule-making phase, but the DEC adopted them as emergency rules to avoid potential conflicts with pet owners in the upcoming trapping season.

See the full story here