Sunday, October 23, 2016

Changes for Fisher, Marten, and Bobcat Seasons

DEC LogoFurbearer trapping will begin soon in many parts of New York State, following changes to fisher and marten trapping seasons, as well as changes to some general trapping regulations and expanded hunting for bobcat.

While coyote hunting season began October 1 in much the state, hunting seasons for other furbearers such as bobcat, raccoon, and fox begins October 25. Trappers should be aware of changes to trapping regulations for fisher beginning this fall, including:

A new six-day season in Wildlife Management Units in selected central and western New York beginning October 25;

Shorter season for fisher and marten in Adirondack Wildlife Management Units 5C, 5F, 5G, 5H, 5J, 6F, and 6J to 30 days with the season beginning on November 1; and

All fisher and marten trappers are required to obtain a special, free permit from their regional wildlife office, submit a trapping activity log, and submit the skull or jaw from harvested fishers and martens.

This fall will be the fourth season for the bobcat “Harvest Expansion Area” (HEA) in Wildlife Management Units 3R, 3S, 4A, 4F, 4O, 5R, 6R, 6S, 7S, 8T, 8W, 8X, 8Y, 9J, 9K, 9M, 9N, 9P, 9R, 9S, 9T, 9W, 9X, and 9Y. The season in the HEA runs from October 25 through November 18. Bobcat hunters and trappers in the HEA are required to obtain a special, free permit from their regional wildlife office; however, bobcat hunting/trapping activity logs and submission of the bobcat skull, jaw, or carcass are no longer required.

To obtain a free fisher, fisher/marten, or bobcat HEA permit, hunters and trappers are required to contact the regional wildlife office.

 

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Community news stories come from press releases and other notices from organizations, businesses, state agencies and other groups. Submit your contributions to Almanack Editor Melissa Hart at editor@adirondackalmanack.com.




12 Responses

  1. Charlie S says:

    Are fishers over-populating or something so that there is this need to kill them? And fox and bobcat? They are such beautiful animals! And to do it with traps! How some people sleep at night is beyond me.

    • Davis says:

      And lynx confirmed 40 miles away from the NY border in Londonderry Vt. The DEC response shoot and trap bobcats. Haven’t we had enough cases of wolf or canines, with a heavy wolf gene makeup, being shot because someone just had to get that “big” coyote? DEC’s predator management is in the stone age. How about some political pressure to amend this bs.

    • Bill says:

      Never trapped a mouse, huh Charlie?

      • AG says:

        Big difference. Mice in the house can ruin your home and pass diseases to you. In fact – taking the predators out of the landscape increases the rodent population. History is a good resource of the consequences of that.

  2. Charlie S says:

    I trapped one recently Bill. A live trap with peanut butter in it. The mouse went in,the trap closed shut,I released the little guy across the road near the railroad tracks.

    • Cranberry Bill says:

      My wife trapped a mouse – a white mouse running around the garden – and brought it in the house. Well over a hundred dollars went into its apartment. It must run ten miles each night in its wheel. I cannot wait to see the vet bills.

      • Charlie S says:

        Too funny Cranberry Bill. Truth be told though it disturbs me to see animals in cages or fish in tanks. I am especially bothered by lobsters in tanks in supermarkets,their claws clamped shut. (The human animal is the most sadistic form of life on planet earth!) I always avoid looking at lobsters in tanks whenever I pass them by in stores. Always! There’s enough sadness out there to last three lifetimes and boy how I wish for it all to go away. I suppose when I pass over to the great beyond then I will know peace.

        • Boreas says:

          Charlie,

          Hopefully it won’t be to the big lobster tank in the sky… We all must keep our Karma clean!

        • Cranberry Bill says:

          Thank you Charlie S for the reply. I had a 17,248 word paragraph to post, but I could not get through the speed chick.

  3. Lily says:

    Leg hold traps are simply barbaric and ought to be forever banned from a civil society. There is no “overpopulation” of these animals and they are not killed and taken for human sustenance, so this whole trapping business ought to be ended immediately.

  4. Eric says:

    I have spent so much time in the mountains, and except for bears playing with bear canisters, I rarely see wildlife above 5 pounds. I remember in college bobcat being reintroduced, I have never seen one though. The thought of bobcat, any weasel, or even moose being hunted makes no sense to me at all.

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