North Dakota Trapper Targets Muskrats

Muskrat trapping is a lot of fun.  And it’s becoming more rewarding with increasing pelt prices over the past couple of years.  But for most trappers, the experience trumps the financial considerations of trapping.

Nat Bornsen is a North Dakota trapper who targets muskrats.

Click here to read Nat’s story.

Trapping Today News Roundup: 1/8/2012

With plenty of trapping-related stories in the news lately, I thought I’d take the opportunity to give you a sample of what’s out there.  You can click on the links below to read these news stories.

River Otters Returning to northwest Ohio – For the first time in over 100 years, wildlife officials have confirmed a river otter in Putnam County, Ohio.  The recovery and continuing spread of the state’s river otter population is a trend also seen in numerous other states.

Fur trapping remains important part of northwest Ohio’s economy – This story highlights the diminished, but still important, fur market economy in northwest Ohio.  Area wildlife official Jim Schott provides valuable information on the area’s trapping, past and present.

Southwest Missouri Trapper Catches Mountain Lion – A trapper recently caught and released a mountain lion in Reynolds County, Missouri.  The story comes on the heels of numerous reports of mountain lion sightings in that part of Missouri. Could the big cats be expanding their range?

Young Missouri Trapper Works Hard, Makes Big Catches – 17 7ear old Wacey Lathers is already a more accomplished fur trapper than many folks over twice his age.  The kid has been trapping since he was 11.  He works hard, makes big catches, and loves the time he can spend outdoors before and after school.

Trapper Provides Tips on Spring Beaver Trapping – Bruce “Buckshot” Hemming recently wrote an article in “The Survivalist Blog” that provides some great information on spring beaver trapping.  He explains the basics of trapping beavers with footholds, conibears and snares.

 

Market for Muskrats Gains Attention

The Wall Street Journal just posted an interesting article on the recent rise in demand and prices for muskrat furs.  They took the time to interview several trappers and relay their thoughts on the muskrat market, as well as the fur market in general.

The North American muskrat market has been booming, thanks to soaring purchases by Chinese and other newly rich nations that need muskrat fur to line coats and footwear.

Joel Millman/The Wall Street JournalTrappers Dennis Gast and Alan Kamarainen examine an otter skin.

Specifically, they want muskrat bellies, the felt-like fur that is practically impermeable to moisture. At $10 per pelt—five times what muskrats fetched in the 1990s—pelts were trading at new highs when bidding for last season’s furs ended in June.

But some in the belly trade are casting worried glances at Europe, where fur sales are expected to be soft this winter. That could drag prices down for trappers here, and the current muskrat mania could prove to be a belly flop.

Click here to read the full article.

Pennsylvania Trappers Play Vital Role

Pennsylvania outdoor writer Ron Tussel recently authored a great article on trapping in the state.

Trapping has had some bad press in the past, spurred and funded mostly by anti-fur and animal rights groups. Trapping, in fact, is highly regulated and foot-hold traps must not surpass a jaw width of 6.5 inches in Pennsylvania.

Foot-hold traps are designed to restrain an animal. Traps are sized according to the targeted species, so as not to cause undue damage and permit release of unwanted animals. For instance, a trap used to catch coyotes would be larger and stronger than a trap used to catch muskrats.

A trapper often has the option to release an animal of smaller size or non-target species by restraining the animal with a catch pole or similar device and opening the trap. A trapper must know and study each animal they wish to harvest.

Click here to read the full article on Pennsylvania fur trapping.

Some Interesting Tales From Canadian Trappers

Philip Rushton of the Whitecourt Star recently interviewed a couple of old timer Canadian trappers who had some interesting tales to tell.

Click here to read the full story.

Trappers Misunderstood

James Foster of New Brunswick, Canada’s Times & Transcript newspaper wrote an excellent article on trapping after taking the Province’s sponsored trapping course for the first time himself.  Like James said, taking a trapping course can be a real eye opener to folks who otherwise aren’t familiar with the sport.

The course was more than informative – it was downright fascinating, offering keen insight into this age-old tradition that nowadays is carried on almost solely for the love of their craft. For sure, nobody’s trapping for the money or because it’s easy.

And by taking the time to learn about trapping, Foster came away with an enlightenment that I wish more people had.

Fur trapping has got to be the most misunderstood of all outdoor pursuits. Trapping is about as sustainable and renewable as it gets. Nothing is wasted in the taking of furbearing animals, and furbearers provide us with more than just clothing. The finest artists’ brushes come from furbearers. The best fishing flies, too. The cosmetics industry relies a lot on the fur industry, as do crafts people. The list goes on and on.

If I took away nothing else from the course, it’s that trapping requires a whole lot of knowledge, a ton of common sense and a sense of duty to our furbearing wildlife that goes far beyond that of the ordinary everyday citizen.

Foster provided a lot more great information on trapping and trappers in his column, which you can read by clicking here.

If more non-trappers would approach trapping with an open mind, they would come away with a much greater understanding of what it really means to trap.

Kids Trapping Program Director Receives Award

Guy Erasmus, who heads up the “Take a Kid Trapping” program as part of the Canadian government’s Department of Industry, Tourism and Investment, received a prestigious award from the Fur Institute of Canada.

It’s great to see successful programs like this that promote trapping for the next generation.  Here’s the press release:

GNWT Employee Receives National Award from the Fur Institute of Canada

R(16)463  - Thursday, June 24, 2010

The Fur institute of Canada (FIC) has recognized a Government of the Northwest Territories employee for his commitment to the trapping industry.The Department of Industry, Tourism and Investment’s (ITI) Robert (Guy) Erasmus has been chosen as the recipient of the 2010 Jim Bourque Award. The FIC presents the award annually in recognition of an individual that reflects Bourque’s commitment to the sustainable use of resources, improved animal welfare, the development of Canada’s modern fur trade, the recognition of Aboriginal peoples’ cultures and the stewardship role that trappers play in the conservation and management of Canada’s wildlife.

Mr. Erasmus was nominated for his central role in the founding, development and implementation of ITI’s Take A Kid Trapping Program. This program began in 2002 and has been successfully implemented in all regions of the Northwest Territories, with nearly 1,500 youth taking part in the program in 2009/2010. Over 8,000 youth have enrolled in the program since its inception.

“Mr. Erasmus has done a remarkable job in promoting the traditional economy to NWT youth through the Take a Kid Trapping Program” said Minister of Industry, Tourism and Investment Bob McLeod. “His work has contributed greatly to traditional life skills development and to the NWT’s traditional economy, and I want to offer my congratulations to Mr. Erasmus on receiving this well-deserved honour.”

The award announcement was made at the 2010 FIC Annual Banquet in St. John’s, Newfoundland. The FIC annually recognizes outstanding individual achievements in the Canadian trapping industry with a variety of awards.

Through programs like the Take a Kid Trapping Program, ITI and the GNWT are working towards developing healthy, educated Northerners and safe, sustainable communities as envisioned in the 16th Legislative Assembly’s Northerners Working Together strategic vision.

For more information, contact:

Darren Campbell
Manager, Public Affairs and Communications
Industry, Tourism and Investment
867-920-8696

Alaska Trapper Makes Cover of Field & Stream Magazine

Several months ago, Fairbanks, Alaska trapper Marty Meierotto was featured on the cover of the special survival issue of Field and Stream.  A cover shot for a trapper is pretty incredible – not just for Marty and his fellow Alaskans, but for all trappers in the U.S. and Canada.  I don’t think I’ve ever seen an issue of F&S that featured a trapper.  While the magazine covers hunting and fishing in great depth, trapping is often much more obscure.

Field and Stream’s Bill Heavey joined Meierotto on his Alaskan bush trapline this winter and put together an extensive story on Marty, survival in the Alaska wilderness, and trapping.  The story appears to have shone trapping in a pretty good light, and surely introduced a number of folks to the fact that trapping is still pretty prevalent in the modern world.

The Fairbanks Daily News-Miner had a story on Meierotto and the reaction to the F&S article. It’s a great read.

The article seemed well received.  Hopefully the mainstream sporting magazines will begin to pay more attention to trapping as an important part of the outdoor lifestyle.  We trappers could certainly use the support of our brothers and sisters in the mainstream sporting community.