otter season

Michigan season for otter ends March 31 beaver season April 21 does not make a lot of sense.

Our otter season ends 2 months before beaver. I think it's pretty common everywhere, and biologically I think it does make sense.

I believe Michigan dnr has changed the rules up a bit this season. I think incidental otter may be kept during beaver season, just as long as you have extra otter tags left over.

Bycatch is possible but I find it pretty darn clean as long as some thought is applied. Random blind sets, spillway sets, fresh otter sign all bad lol. Setting right on the beaver should eliminate almost all issues IMO esp since beaver have a such a smaller home range.

Beaver and otter seasons should always coincide in my humble opinion. What weird reasoning would dictate otherwise?

trapping u.p. is right

Most fur managers would agree with that.
Our otter season was recently changed.It used to end on May 15 with the beaver season.They rolled it back 2 weeks to April 30.Their reason was the earlier parturition date of otters than beavers.
Our federation voiced our concern about the season not being aligned,and we were able to get an exemption for incidentals.
We are not allowed to specifically target otter after April 30 but we are allowed to keep any incidentals caught during the open season for beaver in May.
I dont know of any trappers who targeted otter in May even when the season was aligned.

Beaver are often trapped for nusiance and/or fur. Beaver stay prime much longer. On most spring otter the fur is singed. The idea basacially is that the wildlife departments do not want otter targeted in the spring to avoid over harvesting.

Overharvest of otter may be a concern on the fringe of their range.
Elsewhere it has never been a concern.Except for coastal areas,overharvesting of beaver is much more detrimental for both beaver and otter.