In June I was contacted by someone with my state's ANR who was looking for bids to remove beaver. My state has had terrible flooding two years in a row and the state was concerned about managing damns.

After jumping through hoops and finding where we could get their minimum required $1mil insurance, we submitted a quote. I was having a knee replaced so I was involved more because I was on the state list of ADC trappers. So I thought I would help a young guy who my brother and I had gotten into trapping and was working like a dog to save up enough money to attend the Ranger School in NY. Figured it would be an opportunity for this young fellow to make a few extra thousand to help with tuition.

So we get out nuts in a row and submit our bid which we were notified was the winning bid. So I reached out to the game warden (who had serious concerns about drawing down the water) who I know so he would know what we were doing. The state's parameters called for checking traps very early to avoid contact with the public and all trapping had to be done between August 1st and 15th as they planned to have a contractor come in and do work on a (This word is unacceptable on Trapperman). First we're told to get NWCOA membership (and we set up as an LLC which had cost involved) and insurance in place and then we're told to wait. Wait because the state employee was finding push back where another trapper was supposed to trap in a similar situation. We have this outfit who goes by POW (Protect Our Wildlife) which is a very anti hunting and trapping group with friend in our very liberal legislature.

During this fiasco we had spent the money to join NWCOA and to avoid being sued the ANR had to then give us a contract with our agreed upon start up fee to cover membership and insurance. But to reimbursed we had to buy insurance. Long and short we are in a contract which the actual trapping has been canceled and wasted a lot of time to turn no profit.

Concerns was push back about trapping and how much the state wanted to draw down the body of water. So I'm wondering if anyone else has had a similar situation and caution you when contacted by state ANR bureaucrats to make sure they are actually ready to have work done. It was a totally frustrating ordeal which might bear some fruit but very doubtful.

Made a living this way for 30 yrs and theres Always hoops to jump thru. The nature of the beast.

I avoid the government, tried working with DEC in New York, they have no ears!

I have a similar story, told I had a winning bid and 3 days before starting a 32,000 job they let me know they had found someone cheaper. Working for govt is a joke. The field guys are normally great but administration seems to attract weasels.

Ain't government work grand!!!!