I have a few questions about trapping in Michigan. I noticed the 151 dollar charge for a base license then a extra 15 dollar charge for the fur bearer license. I noticed the kill tag also for marten and fisher do you need to live in the state to get one of them or can a nonresident get kill tags for those species?

Resident only for Fisher and Martin

Thank you for clarifying

Yeah they screwed with our non resident trapping a few years ago for no reason. If the total number of marten and fisher taken by non residents was over 20 I would be very surprised. It screwed residents over for trapping reciprocal states. We also have a delayed start for non residents which is BS.

You mean marten?

They make a lot of decisions without looking at the science or facts.

That used to be true. I know, the Michigan Trappers Assoc. had it made as such in 1985(I think). Opening day was Nov.15(Rifle deer season).

Now you can trap the same dates as the local. No Cats or Otter for non-residents. I don't think Fisher or Martin either.

The $151 fee was for those who wanted to seriously trap here. Then the $15 was for the Fur harvester License. There is a reciprocity rule also.

Upon further review it looks like beaver is the only species with differing resident and non resident seasons. Anyone crazy enough to travel to our state to catch 5 dollar beaver should have the same season dates as us.

I have yet to talk with any DNR person that can explain to me why non-residents are not allowed to hunt/trap any furbearer that requires registration after harvest (Marten, Fisher, Bobcat and Otter). As stated, it monkeys up us going to some other states as well. It really hurt some
Bobcat houndsmen that put on guided hunts. A local fellow here in my area had a large out-of-state clientele built up, and he ended up having to return something like 15 grand in deposits for the following season. Ouch! You can bet that if we are lucky enough to have trapping as a means of Wolf harvest, that they will require registration as well, and it will effectively prevent any Michigan folks from trapping a Wolf in Wisconsin.

Yeah, I live only a few miles from the border of Wisconsin, so that really limits my trapline

Guess they want you to loose money in your own state. Trying to help out the trappers!! Less expenses if your not buying a nonresident liscense

If I had to throw out a WAG the reason that NR's are prohibited to trap registration animals came from some form of public pressure and not for biological reasons.

When trapping these fur bearers (Marten, Fisher, Bobcat and Otter), they have to be tagged for a data collection as to the area trapped.

If everyone just trapped without any record of these lower numbers, soon the species would be way or deleted down. And the numbers need to be up like beaver.

For a number of years when I started trapping beaver, the limit was 2. And tagged. There was not a good record of numbers. Not anymore.

Don't forget Senor Trap in Michigan if you drive across the county line you're a nonresident
And in the days of beaver limits it was 2 bucks for a dollar an inch beaver license so the whole family trapped

Resident is usually reflected to a state on your purchased trapping license. For voting, its the township/county your registered within.

Senior.