the effect of trapping on sd pheasant numbers

A

acsfea

New member
Hello,

Brian from SD. Pheasant hunter with 2 black pointing labs. I am also a trapper and pro-trapping advocate.

We have seen a major decline in our pheasant numbers from what I believe are trapping restrictions that prevent our trappers from effectively harvesting our nest predators. We are trying to get these restrictions removed.

You can find more information here.

http://sd-pheasants-decline.blogspot.com/2014/03/the-effect-of-trapping-restrictions-on.html

I would like to post this to the other sections of this forum to let some of you know just how damaging these restrictions have been on our pheasants and on our trappers.

I would also like to post a method I used to trained my dogs to avoid cubby traps. It only took 10 minutes, didn't hurt the dogs, and now when my dogs see a cubby trap they just stand there and bark at it. Very simple and effective.

Anyway, in the next week or two I will be posting pictures (if this allowable) on how to train your dog to avoid traps and will post in the dog training section.

Thanks,

Brian
 
You need to trap more and in all honesty should be required in your endeavors to trap year round for skunks, fox, coons and feral cats. You'll never get them all as their reproduction is incredible.
 
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Well yes. Year round trapping pressure would be great. However, fur only has value in the fall and winter. And that is the only time when our fur trappers can and will harvest these predators for free.

2,500 trappers x 100 coons/year x 20eggs/coon = 5 million pheasants

If we cut their success in half by these restrictions we kill 2.5 million pheasants a year by putting restrictions on our trappers.

A dead predator in the fall is still a dead predator in the spring. And dead predators can't destroy our broods or eat our pheasant eggs.

Agree ?
 
I agree 100%. Several of us just hired a local reputable trapper to trap about 2000 acres of CRP and waterways for the next 6 weeks. We understand the fur is not usable as does the trapper. We are paying him for his work, meaning mileage and time.
He is excited to do this because he sees it as a possible new business model, will do it with his 2 sons and loves to trap. This may or may not make a difference but we are trying.
 
Fall/winter trapping makes little if any measurable difference over the vast majority of the pheasant range if there is adequate nesting cover for the hens. While many of you will want to immediately disagree ... read on.

Trapping like most hunting is a sustainable activity. The furbearer population can withstand rather heavy trapping pressure. Just like deer and pheasant hunters ... trappers take mostly juvenile animals ... many if not most that would be killed by other animals, run over by cars, die of disease, or starve. Most young predators (avian and mammals) starve before reaching one year of age.

Trapping is good because if allows people to make a sustainable return off a wild population. It may also help to keep the population from screaming up to ultra high levels - and it is high levels were mange, distemper or other diseases force the population to crash.

Furbearers move around (especially young animals forced from their parents territory) and if an area is actively trapped ... other animals back fill into this area if food sources are present.

DELTA waterfowl has shown that aggressive trapping can impact nesting bird success, but this is INTENSE TRAPPING RUN OVER AN ENTIRE TOWNSHIP IN THE SPRING or near areas that also are fenced to prevent backfilling. THE USFWS confirms that trapping is only really effective in making MEASURABLE impact on nesting success rates when run inside enclosed areas in the SPRING.
 
wildcat said:
I agree 100%. Several of us just hired a local reputable trapper to trap about 2000 acres of CRP and waterways for the next 6 weeks. We understand the fur is not usable as does the trapper. We are paying him for his work, meaning mileage and time.
He is excited to do this because he sees it as a possible new business model, will do it with his 2 sons and loves to trap. This may or may not make a difference but we are trying.
Click to expand...

This is the ONLY way to make a measurable difference. Spring trapping. Problem is fur quality may not be too great. Thus you need to pay the trappers for their efforts.

As I noted above ... Delta and USFWS acknowledge spring trapping will work.

If you could some how fence off areas ... all you would need to worry about is the weather. :eek:
 
acsfea said:
Well yes. Year round trapping pressure would be great. However, fur only has value in the fall and winter. And that is the only time when our fur trappers can and will harvest these predators for free.

2,500 trappers x 100 coons/year x 20eggs/coon = 5 million pheasants

If we cut their success in half by these restrictions we kill 2.5 million pheasants a year by putting restrictions on our trappers.

A dead predator in the fall is still a dead predator in the spring. And dead predators can't destroy our broods or eat our pheasant eggs.

Agree ?
Click to expand...

Nope ... not that simple. See above. Read compensatory vs additive mortality in wild animal populations.
 
this is one of those topics that will never be determined. If the trapping is done over a large area, it would probably have some effect. Trapping one or two sections unless sustained forever will have little long term effect. When I was a kid growing up we had large oak trees in our back yard. We were always getting squirrels in our attic. My father was on a mission for years to eliminate the vermon. He bought traps, high powered pellet rifle, anything to kill. He killed hundreds over the years. I think there were more when he died than when he started. They even built a couple of nests there one year. As long as we had good acorns, we had squirrels. They would fill in from surrounding areas. I have hunted in the same areas of SD for years. They have never trapped. When the habitat is good there are birds. When nature takes its toll it can be tougher. If I were going to spend money on something, it would be habitat. You can spend all you want on trapping predators, and one bad winter will set you back years if you don't have good cover. Just my .02 cents
 
I agree habitat is important and weather is important in order to produce good nesting habitat and winter survival. Weather is also something we can not change. It is out of our control.

On the other hand trapping is something we can control. For the state to make trapping more difficult for our trappers or the trappers efforts less effective is and was a bad decision which leads to disaster as we are now seeing as the brood data comes in.

Fencing off nesting areas or our entire state to keep predators out is not a practical solution.
 
Not the entire state mind you. Just your area or two.

Fence off a half section or section of land and intensively trap the area and you will eliminate predators ... for the most part. Still have avian. Reptilian may do well.

There are some good reads out there by the US Geological Survey (USGS) and the US Fish and Wild Service that demonstrate this.

Very, very costly though. Pretty sure we are talking electic fencing and the fencing needs to go down aways too, to prevent tunneling under.
 
Yes. But if there was intensive trapping at the boundaries (ie row ditches) predators would be eliminated too because those migrants entering would be killed as would those leaving. Which is why I believe the current restrictions are so damaging. It almost eliminated effective boundary trapping.

October is a prime month to target breeding age females because they are still traveling with the yoy kits and our trappers can quickly take them all out. I am talking raccoons. Not much we can do about hawks, snakes, or ground squirrels I agree.
 
As a bunch of upland hunters here.
We should NEVER! discourage fur trappers from going after the nest and brood killers.
I'm behind the trappers 100% always. :thumbsup:

And I'll add that those critters for instance,Coyotes that are devastating on Wintering Pheasants.
All those hens that Yotes kill in the Winter will never get a chance to nest or renest. WE NEED the Trappers.
 
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The coons are taking over my neighborhood. Afriend took about 100 last fall, but still plenty around. The reason I amseeing so many on my little piece of heaven is they are , like the pheasants, limited to their preferred habit. Creek bottom with a lot of slough like cover in this case. My dogs have killed three that appear to be last years litter and prbably all mates. All killed within 50 yards of one another. I have to put the collor on my male as he has already had coon hound paralysis twice and given my past experience, he will not survive a third. Kill them all however you can I say, but they will still thrive I guess. Also killed a mangy fox.
 
mnmthunting said:
As a bunch of upland hunters here.
We should NEVER! discourage fur trappers from going after the nest and brood killers.
I'm behind the trappers 100% always. :thumbsup:.
Click to expand...

:10sign::thumbsup: I've bumped into a few public areas (over the past few years) that were loaded with traps. Many nest raiders on the trap-line. I just grabbed the dog and moved on to another spot to let the trapper do what he does.

Pheasant numbers are (in part) what they are because of the trapping out there.
 
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Thank you for your support. If you could find the time please drop an email to the gfp and the pheasant task force and tell them to repeal the trapping restrictions and that you are a pheasant hunter. The email links are in the blog page I posted in the first message in this thread.

I think it will help a great deal.
 
They all work together, predator control, habitat, weather, hunter, trapper. Trappers are no doubt a bird hunters friend but also a great part of our heritage and we should all support each other! I let coon hunters and trappers run my property after every year and will do so as long as they are willing.
 
acsfea said:
Thank you for your support. If you could find the time please drop an email to the gfp and the pheasant task force and tell them to repeal the trapping restrictions and that you are a pheasant hunter. The email links are in the blog page I posted in the first message in this thread.

I think it will help a great deal.
Click to expand...

Post a link. I am not opposed to trapping but I don't think it is the end all get all to, improving pheasants populations. They can fly, and yes they do take down nests. Farming probable has more impact on Pheasants than any thing else. It is all about Habitat. This is not an attack on farmers. Just the facts.
 
Here is a link to to web log. http://sd-pheasants-decline.blogspot.com/

We filed a petition today to have 3 restrictions repealed that are preventing our trappers from going after coyote, fox, raccoons, skunk, and opossum in October. We have not taken any action on the cubby trap restriction yet.

We could use your support and if you, anyone else, or anyone you know could send an email to Wildinfo@state.sd.us voicing your support it would help immensely. You do not have to be SD resident to provide your support or send the email. May is the month that our gfp commission prefers to work on trapping issues so your support is especially important at this time.

I totally agree that habitat is very important also. However habitat (like the weather) is somewhat out of our control since our farmers have to work their land in order to provide for their families.

Thanks.
 
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