I received another trapper survey today, this one from our DEC, the previous one from Cornell a few days ago. They are primarily geared about fisher, but there are also questions about other species as well.There is a large concentration of questions about how many traps you had set, how many nights were they set, and how many animals you caught.We have been burned before by these surveys, using carefully worded to justify changes DEC already had in the works. These questionaires are very similar in the questions. I worry that the trappers responses would be used to justify changes possibly in season dates, season lengths, or catch limits to name just a few. I urge all New York trappers to not respond and BEWArE !

Al, if we had any leadership in the NYSTA, they would request a meeting with the furbearer unit to discuss what the survey hopes to accomplish.

I agree the DEC already has their minds made up, they just want a leading question survey to point to when more regulations are implemented, so when trappers give them some push back, DEC will point to Cornell & dec survey, and say, it’s what trappers wanted according to survey.

I am in agreement with both of you. NYSTA leadership is disappointing. Where is the JTI Committee.? All I hear is that they are waiting on DEC. We need to be proactive, not reactive.

That's a really, really, really big IF, mike.

Unfortunately, we don't have any leadership.

NYS trappers are adrift with nobody steering a course.

w

Does your association have meetings you can go to and voice your concerns?

NYSTA has quarterly meetings, but rarely do any members come other than officers and directors. Meetings are open to all members/

will do fisherman

Well there ya go. Those meetings are the place to start.

Over four hours one way for me. 8 hours of driving for one meeting

Where is the info on the meetings? NYS web page is 5 years behind.

You got's to know the password & the secret handshake !!!!!

w

If we don't fill out our Fur Report...how many traps set

How many nights

What we caught and where..

No report...no new trapping license..until report is received

Don't give them any ideas! My survey from NYSDEC had a number. I tore up my survey.Now I do wonder what the repercussions of that will be. I e-mailed the Cornell guy and told him that I was not going to reply to the survey, and why. We have been burned in the past by these surveys designed to trap trappers. I don't trust Cornell or DEC.

The New York State Trappers web page is a disgrace and not kept up todate.

JTI Committee where are you ???????????

P.S. I'm a trapper, not a book keeper! I don't keep track of how many days I trapped, or the number of traps I set, .and it really is not their business. DEC has failed miserably in managing fisher. Just another attempt to justify that failed theory of traps per unit of measure. How many days was that biologist out of the office playing with collaring Pine Marten and forgetting all about Fisher? Long gone are the days when men like Gary Parsons and Mark Brown successfully managed fisher in the Adirondacks!

We could let our members know about these surveys if we were told about them from the fur team of DEC or Cornell before they were prepared or sent out. As President of the Association, I have not even received one of these surveys or for a matter of fact I did not receive the one from years ago. Everyone wants to blame us, but if we do not know about them until released and do not even receive them, we do not know until we are told by others trappers. If anyone that has received one could pass it on to someone on the board or the chair of the JTI committee, we will address. But as said, we were not notified by the other agencies that they we putting on out or even doing another survey.

Ken Hellijas
NYSTA President

Could someone send me a copy of the report? Take a picture of it. Email it to me. Thanks, Bill Swagler

Listening to the guy that trapped bobcats in California on a recent podcast, it sounds like the state used information from these surveys to document low trapping numbers for bobcat to justify that trapping was not a significant part of bobcat management so they outlawed bobcat trapping.

For the benefit of all New York trappers the quarterly NYSTA meetings are the third saturday of January,April, July, and October at the Herkimer County Fairgrounds. Allmembers welcome

Sent you a p.m.
with photos of it