Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Trapping Okay...question.....

I have HEARD that certain spp were put to the brink of extinction in CERTAIN areas because of harvest rates (over-trapping). Is that true? I am thinking lynx in the state of WA...and otter in LA.

Much to learn...what do you know, and can you set it clear for me.

HoundGirl

Beaver were almost wiped out in Canada in the 1800's due to demand overseas. Wolves were the too, but largely due to poisoning programs. Then in the early 1900's, the registered trapline system was implemented in Canada, as well as the conservation officer service. This regulated harvests as well as methods. A trapper could no longer just go trap an area out and then move on. With each trapper having an area of his own registered to him it was in his best interest to manage his furbearers wisely to insure an income for the following season. If a trapper did trap his line out, it was such a small piece of the whole picture that the surrounding "trap lines" would have critters to repopulate the void.

In this day and age the biggest threat to any species is not hunting, trapping or fishing, its loss of habitat.

RO <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

In the past certain species of animal life were trapped and hunted to near extinction, then came the premises of modern wildlife management with the era of Teddy Roosevelt, Gifford Pinchot, and Aldo Leopold. With the realization that renewable resources are finite, over-utilization waned and today is really a non-issue, with the exception of very localized areas that can and do recieve too much consumptive use. With the advent of modern management practices the large scale use of poison was done away with, paving the way for the recovery of many species that are particularly vulnerable to it.
Trapping is no longer enjoyed by the numbers of people that once did, partly because the money is not as good as it once was, and partly because it has largely been lost to a generation because of ignorance and foolhardy legislation. Because of the vastly reduced numbers of trappers today many populations are actually exceeding the carrying capacity of their habitat to the point that both excessive property/habitat damage and disease outbreaks are commonplace within these populations. So, yes, in the past, prior to modern management practices, many species were over-utilized. Today, however, this is not the case.

I was friends with the guy that took the last legal Lynx in Colorado. I think he wasn't targeting Lynx, but rather picked it up in a dog set.

Any good trapper will not over trap his area, save some seed for the next years to come.

For a neat view on the trapping lifestyle, read Traplines North.

Paul-

Is that the one by the Collins twins?
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Easy Steely, easy, boy!

No totally different, it was written in the 20's. It's about a Canadian family that ran a trapline, and is essentially their journal entries from one year on the trapline. It's probably well out of print, we picked up a copy when they were clearing old books out of the library. My kids were thoroughly enthralled when I read it to them, definately worth tracking down a copy. Here is a website about the book: http://traplinesnorth.tripod.com/

I have read the Colin's twins book, I believe it is called the Trapline Twins. It was one of the first Alaskan trapping books I read after we moved up here, I'll have to keep my eyes out for a copy. They also had a follow up book that was an interesting read Riding the Wild Side of Denali about their horses and dog mushing.
http://www.pacificnews.org/jinn/stories/3.09/970422-trapper.html

I'd really like to get a cabin in the bush and be able to get my kids to run a small trapline in the winters, would give them a good appreciation for hard work and solitude.

Paul
AK trappers' Association has run a kids' trapping school for many years over in Beluga. They get to do all the things trappers do including the not so pleasant ones!

My sister has been heavily involved with the program. As have her daughters.
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