We can trap or hunt predators on our own land 24/7/365. I try to concentrate most of my efforts Mar thru June. I used to have 15 coons under one feeder at a time. After trapping off and on for a month - maybe one or two. It takes them about four of five months to come back a little. I have turkey poults on camera the last two years - and jakes last spring. I had not seen a poult here in seven years. It may be coincidental. But we have heard turkeys the last three years and not heard them the previous five years. It is not overnight - and I think you have to buy in for the long term. Whether or not it is actually the reason we have a fee more turkeys may be coincidental - but I dang sure amd not stopping now.

Most of my landowners would get permits allowing me to trap coon and possums year round. Now GA has an open season on coyotes, beaver, coons, and possums.
Catching Dec-Feb would eliminate quite a few, but our turkeys start nesting in March-May and our quail generally start about May. Predators can and do fill in void areas during that time frame. It remains to be seen if it will have an impact of a statewide level. I know it works on private lands. One property had no coveys to 6 coveys found during a 2hr hunt with just dogs and no shooters.
Our best hunts have come this year. One afternoon hunt produced 19 coveys in 2hrs and 40min. Not too shabby. Especially when the clients only killed 6 birds.

in WI landowners can shoot raccoons year round

siblings or children of the land owner under 18 who do not live on the land can also shoot them , however you can't go help grandpa , or uncle bob out out of season with the nuisance racoon
or as an adult go help your cousin out with shooting or trapping the raccoons.

by opening them year round the state could collect the license fee you were already going to buy later in the year and you can go help out your cousin legally who's chicken coop has 5 raccoons sitting on it almost nightly and they are afraid to let the chickens out at all during the day.

I guess I am asking what is it going to hurt to let raccoon stay open ?

Hurt what, the population? I seriously doubt it. Heck everyone on here talks about how they ain’t worth anything so I’m guessing not many are trapping for their fur. It would be a management benefit though if you like any ground nesters…ducks, quail, pheasant, turkeys, grouse, etc.

On private ground only? Maybe nothing but not on public, too many run ins with others can't be good for trapping. Here it's open year around on private ground with cages and DP's only. But the guys who wanted to kill coons on private ground out of season were already doing it, so very little if any change.

We have no racoon, skunk, coyote, fox or badger closed season. I don't think a month or two longer season would make a difference, since ours is open year around and we still have a problem with them getting nests. I would bet your coon density is much higher than ours too. Like I said you may get one or two nests to hatch, but it takes real intense trapping to make a big change in the hatch rate. I am telling you what I saw while trapping for Delta Waterfowl for eight years.

If you are a land owner and you trap your own land, coons and coyotes are open all year so we already have precident for extended harvest of a species but by designated user groups. We tap a lot of maple trees and use buckets on the ground for say 400 of those trees. Coons are an issue in March in a couple of our woods. We do not own any of the 7 wood lots we tap so extending the season into March would allow us the opportunity to harvest these pesky critters.

Bryce

Fur degradation would be the only reason I could see to resist this idea. In the current state of the market it is not a good reason. I would vote for it and want it simple avoiding over regulation (which we seem to enjoy). Cites animals, colonies and cables to mention a few.

Not a thing now, because as ADC said, no one will trap them since they're worth nothing.

But what about if they get worth $50 a pelt again?

Then how do you propose to reduce nontarget catches? Or wouldn't that be an issue in March?

By non targets are you thinking rats and mink?

They want ignorant trapper's to trap for free, the conservation departments are not run properly, there's thieves among us, there could be a decent bounty system put in place in every state.

and what if the media suddenly starts reporting the news and not opinion , I guess it could happen and if it did the season could be switch back.
I suspect this is why Coyote didn't just move to unprotected species list the WI-DNR left themselves a place to put a season but wrote open year round.

I also don't want my tax dollars going to every tail collector grabbing road kill tails

I am opposed to most taxes imposed by the state , the WI-DNR is already in bad financial shape.

I admit just extending trapping till March 31 and opening raccoon hunting year round would be a weak step at actual nest raider management , I acknowledge that , but the first step in anything is to make it not Illegal. you can't utilize a tool in nest management if it is illegal

we run into basically the same thing but with chickens.
they move out of the winter enclosure as soon as the snow is out and get put back on pasture , woods near the fields have den trees you can clean them out over the winter not a track in the snow but come mid March to April those trees are full.
I am happy to go help at the farm but since I am not under 18 or live on the farm. it isn't legal currently.

it would seem concerns are

non target catches what specifically do you see as the concerns for non targets. anything in a food hold or cable restraint can be released. no snares allowed in WI and limits on conibears already exist
beaver trapping already goes till March 31 or beyond in all but a tiny sliver of the state along the Mississippi were it stops March 15th. why would the risk to non targets be any higher trapping for Raccoons and coyote at the same time.

run ins with other people utilizing the land specifically public land
beaver , otter , muskrat , mink asre open in much of the state till March 31 or April 30th how would this change run in for trapping.

the only seasons open between Feb 15th and and March 31 are a bit of Crow and Coyote which is open year round. rabbit and squirrel end Feb 29th but were already open for all of trapping season and raccoon season.

who would you have a run in with? it is still to early for mushrooms.

year round Raccoon wouldn't have any more run ins than the already years established coyote year round season.

fur degraded quality
it doesn't matter in Coyote that would sell for a lot more than raccoon when prime.
so why worry about already worthless fur.



about the only concern I can see is that traps might get burnt in controlled burns but those are not hot fires and if you have them blended in finding them might be hard but damage would be nothing and that would be on the trap setter not the people operating controlled burns.


any concern to dog safety would be much less with all bird seasons closed than they would be during the prime of trapping where bird seasons are in full swing.

Look where your tax dollar is going now. Bounty system is where it's at. Wisconsin may be one of the worst. How many deer did your boy's destroy, not to mention your wolf issue. Wasteful spending going to your hotshots, the good ole boy club is alive a well.

here is what I am thinking for a resolution statement

Studies are showing that late winter and early spring removal of nest raiding predators benefits nesting birds.
Fur prices are at or near record lows, DNR reports show Raccoon harvest at >50 year lows , there is little incentive to harvest raccoon at these prices and they are a significant nest predator and nuisance.
Coyote Hunting season is already open year round state wide.
Making Raccoon hunting season open year round to match as well as extending trapping of Raccoon and Coyote from Feb 15th till March 31 on all lands would provide tools to help maintain habitat as well as remove agricultural nuisance raccoons and coyote.
in addition allowing landowners to designate a licensed trapper to control nuisance raccoons and unprotected species on their lands during the closed season.
Under current law if I do not live at my cousins farm I can not hunt or trap raccoon when they become a nuisance out of season.


Do you support
-making Raccoon hunting open season year round.
-extending Raccoon and Coyote trapping till March 31 of each year.
-allowing land owners to give permission to a licensed trapper to trap nuisance raccoon, coyote and unprotected species on their behalf at any time on their lands.

would you support this resolution ?