What states out here have the best populations of the animals that we all trap?
Muskrat
Raccoon
Coyote
Fox
Mink
Marten
Beaver
Otter

Assume by "BEST" you mean "MOST"............Keep in Mind that populations/densities DO NOT always coincide with harvest data supplied by state wildlife agencies. Harvest data depends heavily on access to the quarry, legal methods of harvest (trap), dates and the adaptability of the animal (not to mention its positive or negative value to the state's perceived VALUE). I believe the southern states will come up on top of lot of those animals you listed simply because their K (Carrying Capacity) is so much higher than the northern ones. California might lead in one animal species and Texas in another but Iowa and Wisconsin may harvest more. Louisiana may have more mink for an example but more #'s are caught in Minnesota due to the animal's positive value. So its a pretty broad question to answer without a few guidelines and parameters to consider. ...............my experience. .............................the mike

Just to play along...

Muskrat - SD
Raccoon - IA
Coyote - KS
Fox - PA
Mink - MN
Marten - AK
Beaver - ? SE US
Otter - ? SE US

If you mean Quality.

Beaver- northeast USA

Otter- northeast USA

Yep. I'd agree with that. I was thinking in terms of quantity with a little bit of quality, and availability thrown in, at least on the first 4.

I think it was Gerald Schmitt who caught over a thousand mink in a season in MN.

I used to catch a few mink in my area of Mn. But I feel we don't have mink like we used to. We do have many more otter and have been told they are hard on mink. I don't know if that is true or not.?.?

I highly suggest to those who are interested in trapping mink or want to understand WHY you have a mink population and others don’t or vs why they have mink and you don’t, read this! During my 3 years trapping mink for Michigan State University on the Dioxin Project, I participated in using this scientific study in order to establish the mink population within the Saginaw Valley watershed. It was an eye-opening experience for me!
https://lutreola.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/habitat-suitability.pdf