Good job, Muskrat. Keeping the competition low!

What if it was more like hunter’s ed with a classroom/online portion followed by a field portion spanning no more than two days between the two, with reciprocity in all states?

I dont think we NEED trapper’s ed, but I don’t see anyone upset about hunter’s ed.

Are you literate?

If you're not man enough to admit when you're wrong you aren't a man.
How bout that?

For those that think we don't NEED trapper's ed, does your state offer/ require it?

And did you have to take trapper ed to get your license?

For those that had it required, was it of any value?

For myself, in the 90s, I was exempt as a farmer. Never trapped before in my life; but, needed to do something to control predators and staying up all night to protect the flock and work full time during the day wasn't a solution. I took our Trapper Ed course, learned a lot, not only about how to set traps. But animal behavior, fur handling, legal sets, trapping heritage, ethics, ect. I still have a connection with my instructor after all this years and we discuss difficult trapping situations and possible solutions we each have observed/learned over the years based on our individual experiences.

Alaska does not require it. I don’t think we NEED it. Having it available would be good.
When a non res can get a trapping license easier than a resident there is something wrong!
May try some trapping in AR. Can buy a 125 dollar hunting license and a trapping license and I'm good to go. Can also get a cheap hunting license for a resident and tag along, instruct them to trap.
Must be a significant difference in the quality of potential trappers in some states than in others.

They made books, then there were videos, then these videos were on you-tube. There is an Archive on T-man that will give you more ideas then you will ever use. Regulation books are available to anybody to try and digest. The ethics they will teach you are the group's ethics. Judgement is the only area, I am not sure is something you can learn, or just something you have. My conflict avoidance is pretty high, however other people will put a potential catch above conflict considerations. It seems to be an internal judgement meter. Some new trappers may be blissfully unaware of potential conflict issues and will learn the hard way or never. At least a voluntary trapper conflict awareness program would be helpful if they can't discern what situations can lead to conflict.

Let's try and answer your question from a very experienced trapper with a lot of conservation knowledge from another State. A non-resident trying to trap in Wisconsin who had previously trapped in Wisconsin as a resident during the fur boom. The State of Alaska does not require trapper ed and in my part of the State no Hunter ed is required either. Somehow we manage not kill each other on a regular basis. The trapper Association offers a few Trapper workshops for new trappers for I believe a fee. As an experienced long time trapper I had to take the Wisconsin Trapper Ed correspondence course from Muskrat in order to trap with my old trapping partner from the fur boom days in Wisconsin. Muskrat made the process as efficient as such a mail back and forth from the bush process is going to be. As a very experienced trapper and former Wisconsin trapper the material was not much of a learning experience as it was rightly geared to the novice trapper. I understand the purpose of a Trapper Ed course for a novice trapper, or novice to Wisconsin, however for me personally I was just punching a ticket that was required to be punched.

My current state does not require it. I believe they occasionally do a training deal for kids but it's not a regular program as far as I am aware.

The state I grew up in DID require it. But, unlike many states, the program was well run. Every single county had multiple courses per year available, so most students never had to travel more than 15 miles or so to attend one.

At the time I took the class I found it pretty valuable yes. BUT I was 9 years old, completely ate up with trapping, from a family that did not know much about trapping. It was also pre-internet so learning material was scarce. Looking at it from today's perspective I feel it would be much less valuable as all of that info is already readily available online.

For example:

Dirt . . . me thinks it's been awhile since you took the test. The course got another facelift awhile back.

But I'm still golden right? One and done? I swear I remember all the stuff I learned 16 years ago.

That you are, sir.

Yes it was Gerry Blair from AZ. that was the proud owner of that 10 gauges known as Moosedick. He used to write for The Trapper & Predator Caller. I loved his articles and his entertaining style of writing. He wrote a cpl or few books and some about turkey hunting too.

Major Boddicker was from CO. and had the Critr Call company. I own a few of his calls.Major wrote really cool articles also. Several of his articles had like a real life adventure type theme to them.I really enjoyed them too.It is easily an honest mistake to get the two confused/mixed up. I have done just that sort of thing many times.