Guys,,, just out of curiosity,,, is there any chance that some of you guys on trapperman were involved or know anyone who was involved in this extremely successful project??

Believe Jackie was, John.

Yes I was.
Missouri released the first otter in ‘82 and the last in ‘94.
Opened season in ‘96.
I helped with a couple releases, rode in a helicopter doing radio telemetry on otter, and assisted with the research that involved trapping and implanting radio transmitters in their body cavities. Interesting stuff. A big part of the releases and subsequent research was in the county and surrounding counties where I live.

I cannot speak for others that have ponds/streams who enjoy any kind of fishing in them that has seen what a disaster otters can do in a short amount of time that would admit that they were involved. This was another DNR folly that turned sour. Today there are examples of other introductions of animals in places that they were once native but pushed toward nonexistence.

Doesn't take them long to clean small streams or a pond out of fish.

All I can say is the Gasconade and Osage can handle the increase in otter fish take. The big and little Maries and Tavern creek have been decimated by otters. What used to be a well kept secret for small mouth is gone.

I catch more otter than I do pounds of fish in a year.
Most otter damage is perceived and not real in my opinion. And my opinion is based on 32 years as a game warden and trapper living in the most otter rich county in Missouri. I could go on and on, but I’m headed to bed lol.

River otters were reintroduced in WI during the 1980s, with 1985 considered a major year. The DNR spear headed that reintroduction. I don't know any of the trappers or individuals that participated in the process.
They are doing very well in WI. We have lots of lakes, ponds, flowages, sloughs and rivers and streams so there is plenty of habitat for them and with our geogrophy movement is easy.

Bryce

Talked to a long time MDC employee that said reintroducing them was one item the MDC regretted. They would have eventually came here but would have taken longer. Other was keeping the bobcat season closed as long as they did. Have saw them wipe out small ponds of catfish.

Knowing the distances otters can travel creeks and rivers and how successful the reintroduction was, what was the barrier that kept them from expanding on their own?

You will not find to many people that will admit they were involved in one of the worse so called animal reintroduction programs in their states history. Makes the wolf programs look like a joke ( at least ranchers get reimbursed for cattle that wolves kill ). If so please list your full names here so the process of farm pond owners can contact you for reparations of $1000’s of dollars worth fish that have bern killed by the otters you turned loose.
We are all ears or should i say all eyes watching this post.

Tman is a trapping forum......fishing is second fiddle.

Long live the otter!

I hope they stay fat on the fish.

Are you otter haters even trappers?

Yes in Indiana there all over this state.
We only have a 2 otter limit. The state should up the limits.

Otter are far more than a perceived threat to ponds. However, I dont blame them as much as I blame regulations that are too restrictive...and of course, trappers that dont trap them each year to help regulate them...regardless of fur prices. They are like anything else else...need to be managed.

I cant even trap for beaver in the Niobrara for fear of catching protected otter.

Yes I was and when beaver became a problem with the otter vs beaver Dave Hamilton came up to the area I was on and we dealt with issue the best we could. I miss Dave. Heck of a furbearer biogist. Also miss the $140 river otters average year or 2 with NAFA

I recall going to NFH spring meetings in 80s here after otters had been reintroduced. We had so many discussions with Frank Andelt of Nebraska G&P on potential restrictions for beaver trapping methods along certain stretches of the Platte River to try to get them established. Was difficult to trap beaver without catching otter, a common thread in those conversations but beaver needed to be managed too. Talked about restricting use of body grips so otters could be released. I recall one biologist suggesting beaver trapping along one stretch of the river get restricted to front foot sets in 1.5 coils only and it got some chuckles from the crowd. One older fellow at a meeting leaned over to me and said he turned a few loose out of #3 northwoods and he said “those little (This word is unacceptable on Trapperman) are mean” to turn loose too.
Today we have a season with total catch limit and tags after catch. But the season is fairly new only in last few years has that opened up. Most of my 45+ years of trapping we did not have a season for otter just had to dance around the incidentals and turn them in to authorities if we couldn’t release them. Took a heck of a long time before the season was finally opened. And I see otters from time to time crossing the road around where I live. They are thriving.
Glad we have a season again.
Jim

Where do I start ?? We owned a farm in Ohio right across the road from part of a 7000 acre mostly wet lands wild life area where they were first turned loose. No one said anything about turning them loose. had to read about it in the paper. The Grand river, which flows all the way to Lake Eria, had its head waters starting in this area. The river ran through our farm. NOW I trap. One of the very few things I care about !!! That first year I caught one but got real lucky as it pulled out just as I was walking up to it. A week or so later one rat trap came up missing. The place was tore up with claw marks. I remember sitting down on that river bank and saying to myself that I had better change my set ups and trap placements. Pocket sets the trap was placed right in the pocket. Double stacking everything. It got to be a chore rather then enjoyment. The next year I floated one away from a 160 bottom edge set. Stopped using those sets. And yes, I was using those sets before someone wrote a book about them. The following years my rat catch kept going down and somewhat with the mink catch. The small smallmouth bass disappeared and the bullheads that were fun to catch when my daughter was small did so too. They kept telling us that if you have a problem with otters we will send someone out to livetrap them and move them. What a joke. Everyone one knows that otters are here one day and gone the next. Up untill they gave us a season on them I knew a few pond owners who just shot them. I'll admit they are neat critters to watch and they are fish killing machines without a drought. Now we have bobcats out our ears and no season on them yet at least not in Ohio.

Give this a listen. Lots of Otters went from NC to other states for reintroduction efforts.

There was no handbook on how to trap them live and keep them alive. Claudie had to figure it out. He had some great stories

https://www.trappingradio2.com/trapping-radio-126-trap-otter-otter/

Like Skippy said, where do I start.

The limit in Ohio needs raised in the zone I live in. That is not speculation, that is multiple years of boots on the ground experience. The season dates also need to be changed but I doubt either will ever happen though. There are numerous otters everywhere here. They are a fish killing machine and are probably one of the causes of the drastic muskrat population decline. Managed properly, there probably could be a happy balance of otters and muskrats but by limiting the otter catch, the muskrats are very scarce and getting scarcer.

I get more and more otter complaints every year. They decimated one guy's pond a few years back. I (had to have a friend help because of our limit) took 5 otters off his pond in a few days. His pond has never recovered because it is close to a major water system and he still gets an occasional otter or two coming in and wreaking havoc.

This year a landowner called and had several huge catfish pulled out of his pond and partially eaten. He saw 3 otters and shot one.

I catch several every year and have to release them because our season hasn't opened yet. If the boneheads who set the season dates ever had to release a live otter from a trap by themselves, they probably would change the season and have it open when our muskrat and mink season opens. I've had several close calls when releasing otter before season. I don't take chances any more when releasing them.