IF&W Furbearer Biologist Report - John DePue - October 2009
Hello Trappers,
First I have to point out an error in the 2009-2011 Hunting Laws and Rules book. The new regulations (implemented December 2008) for setting conibear traps on land in WMDs 1-11 did not make it into the law book. The complete rule is: All killer-type traps in Wildlife Management Districts 1 - 11 that are set on land, the pole or tree that the trap is affixed to must be: 1) no greater than 4 inches wide at 4 feet above the ground, 2) at an angle of 45º or greater to the ground the entire distance from the ground to the trap, 3) The area within 4 feet of the trap in all directions must be;-free of objects greater than 4 inches wide and, -free of slanted trees or poles between the ground and the height of the trap. If using a pole, the pole must be a natural section of tree, which has not been planed or sawed to create a flat surface.
The purpose of this rule is to ensure there are no objects that make it easier for a lynx to access the trap. Some exceptions are made for blind sets and sets under overhanging banks. Please see p. 42 of the Trapping and Hunting 2009-11 Laws and Rules booklet for details.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2009-2010 Beaver Trapping .
WMDs...........................Season Dates
_____________________________________________________________
1, 2, 4...........................October 18 – April 30
3, 5, 6, 8, 9, 10, 11.........November 1 – April 30
18, 19, 28......................November 1 – April 15
7, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 20...........December 1 – March 31
21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 29
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
In WMDs; 1, 2, 4, 8, 9, and 10 there is no required setback distance from an active beaver dam.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
OK-now to the fun stuff, the final 2008-2009 harvest numbers are in, and the totals are; Beaver-9,119, Otter-528, Mink-1,297, Bobcat-407, Coyote-1,901, Fisher-1,456, Marten-2,291, Red fox-893, and Grey fox-163. As you can see the otter catch was really low in relation to the beaver catch and the red fox catch was the lowest on record. On a positive note, the fisher harvest was up from the previous year as was the number of fisher per fisher trapper, and the percent of land trappers that caught at least one fisher is right on with the 5 year- average. We will have a better indication of how the fisher population is responding to the 10-fisher limit in the next few seasons. More information is available in the beaver mailing located on the IFW website.
I hope all your trap preparations are going well and despite the predicted low fur prices, I hope you have an enjoyable and productive trapping season. I am definitely looking forward to my first trapping season in Maine, I can hardly stand the wait…have fun out there!
-John DePue
