Flagging or otherwise preempting a location is not legal here, and a pretty shady practice where it is allowed. I wouldn't let flagging stop me from setting up a location.

Lots of competition in these parts. It's part of the fun

How about if they flag it as "their hunting spot" but don't show up to hunt?

I guess I'll just keep doing what I've been doing and avoiding any flagged areas. If I give it a bit longer the ice will open up and I'll be able to get my kayak into the water and set places a bit further away without without having to worry about walking out of swampland and through thick brush while hauling 80 pounds of beaver, which is basically how my first sucessful day was.

It's generally accepted that anything within a mile or two of road access is going to get slammed with traffic. So if that's the only spot you have, get in there and compete, but I would try to find some space of your own. You'll have less traps stolen/messed with, you'll catch more fur, and probably have more fun. I had some traps stolen around the 7 mile mark on my trail over the last weekend, next year I won't have any sets for the first 15 miles of trail. Being left alone in southcentral is a chore

That's what the other guy says too. ^^^^^^^^^^^

Trapped beaver for many years. Never had a problem until a family from Minnesota showed up and it was game on. I moved further away but leaving a snowmachine trail it became not only beaver.

I'll happily wrestle him for it lol

I've had trappers set on top of mine. Decided if they want the beavers that bad they can have them. Pulled and moved on.

I was basically SOL on Beavs this year. my family land (without permission) and 2 public spots were trapped out several weeks before the seasoned opened by the USDA, a local university is studying another, I found that somebody else had already set up at one, and several other "promising areas" I have seen in years past have mysteriously dried up, leaving me one colony. some deer hunters tipped me off to another good area, I just wish it wasn't 30 miles south.

So to answer your question, if somebody else is hunting or trapping in an area, I go somewhere else. I've dealt with too many assholes who don't care about anyone else. I absolutely hate gun deer hunting due to people who don't respect other people's hunts. If I'm in my tree stand and some guys start setting up for a drive and they see me, I'll simply leave because that group of middle aged guys obviously need the deer more than 16 year old me.

Get off the beaver colonies that are on the road system. One place to look is on the mainstem of major rivers. There are usually plenty of river running beaver that aren't in a classic colony type of system.

If there are traps there already I woildn't set it. If there were flags and no traps I would set it with the expectation I might have a dispute.

The river is actually the place I've had the most sucess trapping, and I haven't had a lot of competition. The ice is almost broken up enough that I can set up on the rivers again.


Yesterday I saw a dam with tape but no signs of traps. I don't know if they were trying to call dibs or if they trapped it out before the freeze or if they just put the flag on the dam and they were trapping on the lodge itself. To make matters more confusing some lodges have tape that's several years old.

The reason survey flagging is used in much of Alaska is because of snow. You mark live houses preseason, so you can find live houses after 4 or 5 feet of snow. Finding lodges after snow can be difficult. If you find a hump you suspect is a lodge after the snow, you will have to dig down to figure live or not. I don't remove flagging when I am done. I imagine others don't.

P.S. When fall river trapping I flag sets, so I can find them when driving by with the boat. A lot of that flagging also may stay.

If someone is already trapping an area I will leave it be. I try to be first but not always the case. I usually still look around and try to learn from what they are doing, but I won’t set near them. If I am first and someone sets near me, I assume they didn’t see my trap and figure may the best trapper get the spoils. As long as they don’t mess with me I don’t mind. Some areas I fully expect to see other trappers. I will set traps I don’t mind getting stolen or snares in those areas. I will also try to set in areas that are a little harder to get to or require chest waders to get to. Never had a problem with others when I get far away from the road.

Here if its public land expect to get moved in on. There are a lot of people that just don't care. I have trapped beaver in areas where I walk right someone's equipment to get to mine. They moved in after I was in there. I had trap above them below there traps. They didn't get much and wasn't there very long. I don't think they even knew I was there.

Mr. Clifton, I believe you should learn some manners and legal rights.

What's stopping you from using the native corporation. land? Is it the village Corp for Cordova, or the regional, AHTNa I assume. Will they sell permits?

What's stopping you from using the native corporation. land? Is it the village Corp for Cordova, or the regional, AHTNa I assume. Will they sell permits? What about the airport?

The Native Corp is for the local native village, so they set their own policies. You can get permission to forage or hike on native land but they only allow hunting, trapping, and fishing for the people who belong to the Corp. There's also a number of easments that allow you to pass through native lands but you can't hunt/trap them. You can fish on an easment, weirdly, because all waters in the state belong to the state, even when the land around and under the water aren't. You can also trap on/through ice for the same reason.

As for the airport it's technically Alaska DOT, which isn't considered public, so you should ask permission for any use of the land, but except for the restricted areas where they've posted signage they don't seem to care cause there's people trapping on that land, but the area is only like two or three square miles in total and doesn't have beavers afaik. If someone causes problems they might crack down on it, but for now local DOT either is turning a blind eye or doesn't care.