Trappers Share Ideas With DNR
By Paul Gingras

To discuss possible changes to rules for hunters and trappers seeking fur pelts, representatives of hunting and trapping organizations from Ann Arbor to the Keweenaw Peninsula converged with representatives of the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) at Little Bear East Community Center in St. Ignace Saturday, March 1. Ideas gathered from their meeting may help shape rules published in the annual Michigan Hunting and Trapping Guide.

Discussed were rules for traps that can accidentally capture dogs, regulating fenced enclosures containing wild animals used for training dogs, and changes in the size of snares for coyotes.

It was the second of two annual meetings in which the department seeks the input of sportsmen who harvest furs on public and private land in Michigan. The DNR will use the input in making recommendations to the Natural Resources Commission, which ultimately sets the hunting regulations, said Steve Chadwick, the state's temporary bear and furbearer specialist. Regulations are in effect from August 1 to July 31 each year.

The accidental trapping of a dog in a picnic area at Fort Custer Recreation Area in Augusta late last summer will likely lead to the closing of portions of day-use areas to most traps, Mr. Chadwick said.

The problem resulted from a trapper who set a leg-hold trap in a picnic area and anchored it to a picnic table. A pet dog was caught. It was traumatic for the dog and its owners, prompting them to contact State Representative Lorence Wenke, who introduced a bill to ban foothold and leg-hold traps.

Owing, in part, to pressure from the DNR and furtaker organizations, the bill was not pursued, Mr. Chadwick said, but it is likely the DNR will instead recommend closing "mode areas," which are state lands maintained as picnic spots, parking lots, campgrounds, and swimming areas at day-use parks, to all trapping, except raccoon traps. Posters at the office on each site would notify hunters of restrictions. Current rules do not specify where traps can and cannot be used in day- use recreation areas.

"I do not think it is going to be a very hard restriction on responsible trappers because I do not think many would be [in these areas] in the first place," said Conservation Officer Mike Bailey, who spoke at the meeting.

Sportsmen questioned whether recreation areas around trails, but outside mode areas, would be restricted, too, and Mr. Bailey said they would not, because visitors have a reasonable expectation that trails in recreation areas could be used by trappers.

The DNR does not want to mimic rules such as those in western states that establish buffer zones around trails, closing them to trapping, Mr. Bailey said.

A long-standing ban on trapping beaver and otter on the lower portions of the Pere Marquette and White rivers in Newaygo County may be lifted by fall. The closure was imposed in the early 1980s to protect dwindling numbers of the animals. Since then, their populations have rebounded.

The closure has been a regular topic at furtaker meetings for years.

No action will be taken this year on a request to allow open-water beaver snaring. The DNR is still studying the technique and its use in other states.

The idea is to expand a snaring technique used on frozen water to open water. Currently, trappers are allowed to place snares through openings in ice.

If the traps are allowed on open water, some fear that dogs may get caught in them, Mr. Chadwick said. Some sportsmen at the meeting insisted that the snares are set deeper than dogs are willing to dive.

The potential for pelt damage from leg-hold traps is another consideration. Animals caught in underwater snares are likely to drown before struggling enough to damage their pelts, some sportsmen said.

No rules will be changed on coursing pens, used to hold animals such as rabbits for dog training, on private property until 2009, when a permanent DNR fur bearer specialist has been hired and has had time to study the matter. Mr. Chadwick is acting as the state's administrator of the program until a permanent specialist can be hired. Dave Bostik, the former fur bearer specialist, has left Michigan for a position in Washington.

Use of these pens is growing, and may prompt rules based on the type of animals involved, how they are treated, whether they are sold, and the size and number of pens.

A DNR report about the issue is expected to be finished by May 1.

The DNR is concerned that some fenced enclosures used by the captive deer and elk industry in Michigan have been used to raise feral swine and to train dogs. Currently, owners of such facilities need only obtain a permit to have a wild animal in captivity, Mr. Bailey said.

"If you have a coyote, and you have a captive cervid facility, you could easily be charging people to train their dogs at that facility, and all [the DNR] knows is that you have a coyote," he said.

People have been asking about coursing pens in regard to caging coyotes, bobcats, and other animals, Mr. Chadwick said.

"If we are going to allow it, we have to regulate it well," he added.

The DNR is also considering regulations on Conibair trapping on private land. Conibear traps are body-gripping traps that can be lethal. The issue came up this year when a beagle was killed in such a trap, Mr. Chadwick explained.

On public land, these traps cannot be more than six inches across at the hinges, and they cannot be set where dogs can access them. Often, they are set four feet off the ground.

The DNR is considering similar regulations on private land and plans to send out mailings to trappers.

"We need to know how many people are using this technique to know how many people will be impacted, " Mr. Chadwick said.

Finally, the group discussed the possibility of changing the loop sizes on traps designed to capture or kill coyotes and foxes. About three years ago, to protect dogs, the loop size was changed from 2.5 inches to a 4.24-inch loop. The result was a significant drop in the number of coyotes and foxes captured.

Mail surveys on the issue are complete. Now, the DNR is studying new trap sizes and may change its regulation to allow 3.25-inch to 4.5-inch loops.

Sportsmen pointed out dogs vary in size, weight, and build, and questioned whether using a trap of one specific size could realistically protect all pets and hunting dogs.