Furtaker
Survey from the Ohio Division of Wildlife
Article from Nov
- Dec 2009 Buckeye Trapper
by Suzanne
Prange, Ohio Division of Wildlife
The Ohio Division of Wildlife recognizes all of the important
benefits of fur trapping, and wishes to maintain current seasons
and maximize opportunities for trapping furbearing species. Most
furbearing species are quite abundant and we are confident that
trapping does not negatively affect their populations. However,
it is our legal responsibility to have information on their populations
and the number of animals trapped annually to help provide the
biological basis for our season frameworks. We are frequently
asked to justify our furbearer seasons with harvest or population
information. We are constantly looking for ways to improve our
data collection methods and the quality of the harvest and population
data we use to best manage Ohio’s natural resources.
With that in mind, last year we initiated a new furtaker survey.
The survey consisted of a biweekly summary of the trapping season
and asked for the number of each species taken and the average
number of traps set. This is information we need in order to determine
furbearer harvest and population trends. The number of traps set
allows us to determine if declines in harvest are due to lower
population sizes or simply reduced effort, which may happen when
pelt prices fall. Examining the take of furbearers closely across
the season (that is, using a two-week summary) allows us to determine
if weather or other environmental factors affected harvest.
Last year, we sent approximately 1,820 surveys to fur trappers
statewide. We truly appreciate the effort put forth by those who
returned their surveys. This year, we hope to encourage a greater
response. A larger sample size will give us more precise results
that will be representative of statewide fur resources. We understand
that providing a two-week summary is time consuming, but it gives
us very important information. For those of you who do not keep
a journal or cannot supply the two-week summary for some other
reason, we are including a seasonal summary section on this year’s
survey. We can use seasonal summaries to estimate the overall
take statewide, and the two-week summaries to determine the influence
of environmental factors, such as weather.
Please take the time to complete the survey and return it to us
this year. If you have the information, please complete the two-week
summary. Otherwise, simply complete a single summary at the end
of the season. The survey will allow us to track the harvest of
furbearer species over time and provide us with the needed information
to evaluate our trapping seasons.
If you did not receive a furtaker survey last year and would like
to participate in this year’s survey, please contact Suzie
Prange (suzie.prange@dnr.state.oh.us; 740-589-9924). Thank you
for helping us to preserve our trapping heritage in Ohio! ###
Suzanne Prange, Ph.D., Forest Wildlife Research Biologist, Waterloo
Wildlife Research Station, ODNR, Division of Wildlife, 360 East
State Street, Athens, OH 45701, Phone: 740-589-9924, FAX: 740-589-9925.
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