Current through 2024-38, September 18, 2024
1.
Prohibitions
A. No person shall
stake, hook, fasten or position a trap at any trap site location in the fields,
forests or waters of the state prior to the opening day of the trapping
season.
B. No person shall make any
advance preparation on the trapping grounds for the taking of beaver or muskrat
previous to the open season on these animals.
C. No person shall use meat or fish as bait
when trapping for beaver.
2.
Placement of traps near beaver or
muskrat dams, dens or houses
See section
17.06-2.C. (3) for additional
information on how to measure while beaver trapping Except as provided herein,
no person, except an agent of the Commissioner, shall place, set or tend any
traps.
A. within 5 feet of a beaver
house, muskrat den or house;
B.
within 5 feet of a beaver dam; or
C.
within 5 feet of a beaver trap that has been set by another trapper.
D.
Exceptions:
(1) In WMDs 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, 10, 11,
18 and 19 there is no required setback distance from an active beaver dam or
beaver house.
3.
Placement of Steel Foothold or
Killer-type Traps
A. Steel foothold or
killer-type traps must not be set within 50 yards of bait that is visible from
above except if the bait is completely covered to prevent it from being seen
from above, and it must be covered in such a way as to withstand wind action
and other normal environmental conditions. Bait is defined as animal matter
including meat, skin, bones, feathers, hair or any other solid substance that
used to be part of an animal. This includes live or dead fish. For the purposes
of this paragraph, bait does not include animal droppings (scat), urine or
animals, dead or alive, held in a trap as the result of lawful trapping
activity.
B. Steel foothold traps
must be set at or below ground, ice, or snow level.
C. Steel foothold traps must have a chain
that is mounted within the central portion of the base of the trap, and must
have three swiveling points, with one swiveling point at the base of the trap,
one midway in the chain, and one at the trap's anchoring point. These
restrictions do not apply to foothold traps that when set, placed, or tended
are fully or partially covered by water, those that are set on a muskrat
"float", or dog-proof traps also known as enclosed foothold traps (as defined
within section
17.03) .
4.
Placement of Foothold Traps in WMD's
1-11, 14, 18, and 19
A. Foothold traps
must be securely anchored to the ground.
B. The use of drags is prohibited in these
WMD's.
C. Foothold traps must have
the catch circle (as defined within section
17.03) cleared of woody vegetation,
debris and manmade material that could cause entanglement of a trapped animal.
(1) Small sticks and rocks, and
rotten/decaying woody material may be used for stepping guides, blocking, and
backing for trap sets, if they are not rooted to the ground.
D. These restrictions do not apply
to foothold traps that when set, placed, or tended are fully or partially
covered by water, those that are set on a muskrat "float", or dog-proof traps
also known as enclosed foothold traps (as defined within section
17.03) .
5.
Placement of Killer-type
Traps
No person may set, place, or tend any killer-type trap
unless:
A. Set completely underwater
at all times or
B. The
trap has an inside jaw spread less than or equal to 5 inches and the trap when
set meets the following conditions:
(1) When
set so as to be partially covered by water at all times, or
(2) When set under overhanging stream banks,
or
(3) When used in a blind set, as
defined within section
17.03.
6.
Placement of Killer-type
Traps with a Jaw Spread Not to Exceed 8 inches
Notwithstanding 5. A. and 5 B. above, in all WMDs,
killer-type traps with a jaw spread not to exceed 8 inches may be used on or
above ground level if the trap is placed within a lynx exclusion device. The
trap jaws must be completely within the device, the trap springs can be outside
of the device.
7.
Exclusion Devices
Exclusion devices will have the following designs:
A.
Traps with Jaw Spread Less Than or
Equal to 5 Inches
For traps with a jaw spread less than or equal to 5 inches
(primarily used for marten trapping), the device must have an opening of 4
inches x 4 inches or less. The entrance hole may be placed on the end or on the
side of the device, and the set trap must be a minimum of 18 inches from the
closest edge of the entrance hole.
B.
Traps with Jaw Spread Greater Than 5
Inches but Less Than 8 Inches
For traps with a jaw spread greater than 5 inches but less
than 8 inches, two designs may be constructed. For both devices, the trap must
be placed no closer than 18 inches from the closest edge of the entrance hole.
An example design is included in the annual Trapper Information Booklet.
(1) The first design has an entrance hole on
the end of the device that cannot exceed 5 inches x 6 inches. A baffle must be
placed no more than 6 inches back from the entrance hole and the baffle opening
must not exceed 5 inches x 6 inches. With the baffle in place, the entrance
hole and interior opening may not overlap to create an unobstructed view to the
interior of the exclusion device.
(2) For the second design the entrance hole
must not exceed 6 inches x 7 inches and must be placed on the side of the
device. A baffle must be placed at the edge of the entrance with the baffle
opening opposite of the entrance hole, and the baffle opening must not exceed 6
inches x 6 inches.
C.
Requirements for Exclusion Devices
(1) The exclusion device can be constructed
of wood, plastic, or wire mesh. If using wire mesh, the mesh cannot exceed 1
1/2 inches by 1 1/2 inches, or 1 inch by 2-inch openings, (side to
side).
(2) The wire mesh must be 16
gauge or less (wire diameter of 0.05 or greater).
(3) The opening slot in the exclusion device
that allows the trap springs to extend outside the device can be no more than 7
1/2 inches wide and a height of no more than 1 1/2 inches.
(4) The back of the device must be secured to
withstand heavy pulling; if using wire mesh with a wood or plastic box, the
wire mesh must wrap around two opposite sides of the box and be secured.
(5) There must be at least 1
attachment point for each side of the device where a joint or panels come
together.
(6) The opening slot in
the exclusion device that allows the trap springs to extend outside the device
can be no more than 7 1/2 inches wide and a height of no more than
11/2 inches.
(7) The trap must
be anchored outside of the exclusion device.
(8) Bait must not be visible from
above.
(9) When enclosed in an
exclusion device, killer-type traps can be set directly on the ground, or
elevated in trees or on poles, with no specific requirements as to the height
above ground or diameter of the tree or pole.
