Youth trapping season under review

Posted on: March 14, 2018 | Bob Frye | Comments

A youth trapping season might focus on muskrats.

A youth trapping season for muskrats, fishers or some other furbearer might be in the works for Pennsylvania.
Photo: Pixabay

It’s not true that people aren’t trapping like they once did in Pennsylvania.

In fact, it’s just the opposite.

Participation has been on the upswing for two decades. That’s the exception to the rule.

“When we look at furtaking in general in Pennsylvania, we continue to break the mold in that we’ve seen significant and steady increases in furtaker license sales for the last 20 years,” said Matt Lovallo, chief of the game management division for the Pennsylvania Game Commission. “Most states can’t say that.”

More than 43,000 people pursue furbearers in the state each year, he noted. That’s despite the fact that pelt prices for commonly-pursued species like red foxes and raccoons are at “rock bottom,” he added.

And yet “we continue to see a lot of activity,” he said.

“That is encouraging to us,” Lovallo said.

He believes opportunity is the reason.

The commission has added a slew of new trapping seasons in recent years, he noted. That includes seasons for bobcats, fishers and otters, for example.

“And in each and every one of these cases, we’re recruited some new people into our ranks and maybe re-invigorated people who had trapped in the past,” Lovallo said.

There’s one bit of bad news, though.

And it may lead to a change.

Sales of junior furtaking licenses have remained stable over the last five years, he noted. But kids aren’t trapping as much as they did.

They’re getting licenses, but not using them.

Simply put, participation is down.

The answer, perhaps, might be a youth trapping season. Pennsylvania Game Commissioners are considering offering some kind of youth-only trapping season sooner rather than later.

That’s not something that’s been tried before.

Anywhere.

States all around the country offer youth-only hunting seasons.

West Virginia, for example, offers youth-only seasons for deer, turkeys and squirrels. New York has youth seasons for pheasants, waterfowl, turkeys, deer and bears. Ohio doesn’t have a bear season of any kind, but kids have their own season for small game that includes rabbits and quail.

Pennsylvania boasts a variety of youth-specific seasons, as well.

No states – at least none in the Northeast, and maybe none in the country – offer any kind of youth trapping season, however.

Bob Steinmetz, a Michigan man and director of the National Trappers Association — the nation’s largest trapper group — said he’s unaware of any.

“So there’s really no model out there in terms of what works and what doesn’t,” Lovallo said. “This is an opportunity to break new ground.”

There are questions to answer first, though.

Some trappers initially suggested a youth beaver season. But that requires large traps in tough conditions.

Better might be a spring youth-only muskrat season, Lovallo said. Right now, muskrats are fair game from Nov. 18 to Jan. 7, roughly, each year in Pennsylvania. Extending that for youngsters, he said, might give them a chance to take animals whose pelts are still prime without a lot of competition.

A junior fisher trapping season might be another possibility.

Steinmetz said either could be beneficial. Trapping needs new recruits, he said.

“All of our meetings are just gray-haired old guys. So anything that will get kids involved in trapping, I’m all for it,” Steinmetz said.

“The kids aren’t going to hurt the resource. So I wouldn’t discourage pursuing it at all.”

Before deciding on that or anything else, though, Lovallo said the commission will survey furtaker license holders to gauge interest in a youth trapping season and see what species they might prefer.

Once some answers come in, biologists will offer recommendations.

“This is an area we’re looking to move forward with,” Lovallo said.

Trapping events

Anyone interested in learning more about trapping can attend two upcoming events.

First, the Pennsylvania Trappers Association is hosting its 81st annual rendezvous at the Port Royal Fairgrounds in Juniata County from June 7 to 9.

There will be trap and snare demos, predator calling seminars, vendors, food and activities for children and ladies, including a wine tour. There will be a mountain man race, trap setting contest sand more, too.

Details are available at http://patrappers.com/2018-pta-rendezvous/.

The National Trappers Association is hosting its annual convention and outdoor show at Michigan’s Upper Peninsula State Fairgrounds from July 26 to 28.

Headlining the event will be Tom Miranda. He grew up trapping in Ohio and went on to win Safari Club International’s prestigious world hunting award for harvesting 50 animals on five continents. He appears on the Outdoor Channel’s “Territories Wild” show.

There will be lots of other activities for trappers and hunters and families.

Information is available at either http://nationaltrappers.com/convention.html or http://convention.uptrappers.com/.

Bob Frye is the everybodyadventures.com editor. Reach him at 412-838-5148 or bfrye@535mediallc.com. See other stories, blogs, videos and more at everybodyadventures.com.

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