Dog owners snap over traps — Conflict brews in recreation areas of Cooper Landing

By Joseph Robertia

Redoubt Reporter

As Cooper Landing musher Robert Bear headed up to a major mid-distance sled dog race in the Interior last weekend, he did so without two of his best dogs. Back at home were his two leads, sitting out this race, and others to come, due to injuries sustained after being caught in the bone-crushing clamp of a leg-hold trap early last month.

“One of the dogs lost its front right leg and the other part of its front paw,” Bear said.

This is the second time in two years he’s had a dog caught in a trap, although he was able to quickly release the dog the last time, he said. This time, however, was not so fortunate.

He was hooking up for a training run off of Snug Harbor Road. The dogs were amped to go, Bear explained, and as he was attaching dogs to the lines as quickly as he could, it wasn’t quick enough for one of the dogs just behind the leaders. It chewed through the mainline and set the two leaders free.

“They took off sprinting,” he said. “I immediately went out looking for them, and nothing. I continued looking for them for 48 hours before I finally heard one of them howl as I was going by.”

Bear followed the sound a short distance through the forest and found the two dogs, cold, dehydrated and hungry, but alive. They were clamped in side-by-side traps.

“This was less than 50 feet from the road and between the senior center and the Girl Scout camp. Baited with meat and feathers, so I think any loose dog could have been caught in them,” he said.

Equally concerning to Bear is that, while trapping season for many species opened Nov. 10, lynx season wasn’t set to begin until Jan. 1. Bear’s dogs were caught Dec 13. From the trappers he’s described the setup to, it seemed the traps was either legally targeting coyote or illegally targeting lynx.

Despite the accident, Bear said that he’s not against trappers or responsible trapping.

“I use ruffs and other fur for mushing, so I’m not anti-trapping,” he said, “but I do want to create an awareness of the dangers within our community. It’s not safe right now. We can’t hardly recreate on trails they call multiuse, because once those traps are set, they kind of become single-use in the mind of most dog owners.”

Ken and Kate Green, of Cooper Landing, have had their Labradors caught on multiple occasions, as well.

“Since trapping in this area is a significant problem for hikers, skiers and dog walkers, it would be very nice to get the word out. We have had our dogs caught in foothold traps and snares over the past three years. All traps were within 25 to 50 feet of the lake or roads and, to the best of our knowledge, unmarked,” Kate said.

Her husband, Ken, remembers each of the events clearly, since he was with their dogs. The first time was while recreating with his three Labradors — two of the younger ones off-leash — at a popular picnic site referred to by the locals as Five-Mile Beach or Waikiki.

“About 20 feet from Snug Harbor Road — up the embankment, on the beach just at tree line — the loose puppy got caught in a snap trap — jaws, but without teeth. Other than the howling and whining, she was unhurt. I released her easily enough. The trap was rusted, the bait seemed to have long deteriorated, and the only marking was a small piece of surveyor’s tape, which was faded. The trap appeared to have been there for some time,” he said.

Green wasn’t sure if the trap was deliberately deserted or just forgotten about by whoever set it, but either way he said it shouldn’t have been left behind since it could only have made the intended species unduly suffer since no one ever came to check it, but also because it could have caught a nontarget animal or even a small child recreating in the area.

The second time one of Green’s dogs was caught, he said it was again at a common recreation site for Copper Landing residents. This time it was along the shore of Kenai Lake.

“I was walking the same three dogs the next early spring, this time along the Quartz Creek side. The road ends at a small turnaround and a path leads to the beach which is wide and walkable at that time of year,” he said. “I noticed a DVD disc hanging on a branch just off the beach, and figured that some kids were playing around. When I came across another in another tree, I realized what they were.”

Old Duck Hunter: Beware the trap of inattention

By Steve Meyer, for the Redoubt Reporter

If you hunt upland birds with dogs, take dogs with you on outdoor adventures or have a family dog that runs the neighborhood, then Nov. 10 is a date you want to remember. This marks the opening of trapping season for most furbearers on the Kenai Peninsula. Thus, the presence of snares, foothold and conibear traps in the field.

Dogs, being what they are, will find trap sets quicker than their wild canine counterparts, since pet dogs are not nearly as survival oriented.

Being a trapper, a hunter who hunts with dogs, and a dog lover, this subject is fairly dear to me. I have friends who have lost dogs in snares near their homes and others who have lost dogs in the wilderness. Most of the losses can be avoided with a little forethought and care to beloved canine pets.

I don’t know any trappers who want anything to do with catching someone’s dog. Most trappers are responsible and don’t set snares or kill-type traps near areas of human habitation. But as in practically any activity nowadays, there are some exceptions.

This isn’t in any way intended to tell pet owners how to deal with their pets, only a fair notice in case someone isn’t aware of the dangers inherent with a dog running loose without supervision this time of year.

If there are snares or traps in the area, there is a good chance your dog will find them and possibly get caught in them. Most trappers use some sort of bait or attractant for coyotes, wolves, wolverines or lynx. The attractant that draws these animals also will draw your canine companion.

Outdoor treks this time of year can also land you in areas where trappers are plying their trade. On the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge there are regulations that prohibit trappers from using traps larger than No. 1, which is a fairly small trap, within a mile of a road or a trailhead.

Snared in trapping debate — Chugach National Forest sees overlap of trapping, dog owner recreation

By Jenny Neyman

Photo by Jenny Neyman, Redoubt Reporter. Skiers pass on a busy day at the Russian River Campground groomed ski trails in Cooper Landing earlier this month. The trails are open for people to bring along their dogs, but groomers worry about the potential for problems with trapping also allowed in the area.

Redoubt Reporter

Sitting inside, chatting on the phone or sipping coffee while having a conversation about the conflicts between trappers and dog owners, cool heads can concede that a middle ground exists with reasonable precautions and common sense applied on both sides.

But opinions and tempers can tighten and snap as quick as the mechanism of a trap when the topic is sprung in the field, by a four-legged friend yelping in fear and pain at being snared, or by trappers’ realizations that the time, effort and expense they’ve invested in establishing their trapline have been wasted by someone stealing or tampering with their equipment.

Those situations can start heads scratching over a more official approach — specifically, whether or not to institute regulations and, if so, what, when, where and how.

On the Kenai Peninsula, Cooper Landing has had an up-close experience in that debate. Though the community is home to less than 300 year-round residents, those residents and growing numbers of visitors have become increasingly active in wintertime outdoor recreational pursuits, such as skiing and snowshoeing, oftentimes bringing along their dogs. At the same time, the area also is traditionally popular among trappers, both from the area and beyond.

“The trapping around the Cooper Landing area is not exclusively done by Cooper Landing residents, but also people from Seward come in, Moose Pass, people from Anchorage and Girdwood also come down. They come from far away. I had people all the way from Fairbanks come down and set traps here,” said Robert Gibson, owner of Kenai Lake Lodge in Cooper Landing, executive director of the Kenai Peninsula Trappers Association and a member of the Cooper Landing Fish and Game Advisory Committee. “It’s a rural activity for the residents that live there (in more urban areas). Where there’s lots of people, I couldn’t imagine somebody setting traps there. Here, there’s not so many people.”

Not so many people in residence, certainly, but, especially with the advent of groomed ski trails in Cooper Landing and also in Moose Pass in recent years, there are more people out and about in the backcountry than there used to be. The trails are open for skiers and snowshoers to bring their dogs, as well.

“There have been a number of dogs that have, in the last couple of years, either been killed or been snared and/or injured by trapping. There was a dog this year right off our ski trails at Russian River caught in a snare,” said Ed Holsten, part of the volunteer crew of ski trail groomers in Cooper Landing. “There are some people who are adamantly against trapping and other people, like me, I’m kind of 50-50 on it. I’m not against it but I think, especially in Cooper Landing and also Moose Pass, where the last few years we put in a lot of time and effort into increased winter recreation use by grooming ski trails at Trail River Campground, the Old Sterling Highway, Russian River Campground and Resurrection Creek Trail, we’ve seen more of an increase in recreation use in the wintertime because of these groomed trails. We open the trails up to skiers, skijorers, snowshoers, people skiing with dogs or without dogs. This issue needs to be explored.”

Proposals for increased trapping regulations, such as requiring that traps and snares be set back a certain distance from recreational trails and around homes, have been proposed to the Cooper Landing Fish and Game Advisory Committee, which has supported them to the Board of Game, to no avail. So, the debate continues over whether an elixir of awareness, common sense and good behavior can soothe this issue, or whether a dose of regulatory action is needed.

“The local Fish and Game Advisory Committee is wrestling with this, the balance between what’s legal and what should be ethical. I think as Alaska grows up, there’s often this conflict between the way it’s always been and the way it’s going to have to be,” said Chris Degernes, who lives with her husband, Bill, in Cooper Landing.

Snaring change — Dog owner seeks to alter trapping rules

By Joseph Robertia

Photo by Joseph Robertia, Redoubt Reporter. A cross marks the location where Pat Murray, of Kasilof, lost his dog, Willie, in a snare. Miller and his remaining dog, Sally, sit on the tailgate of his truck to show the distance from the road where Willie died.

Redoubt Reporter

The opening of trapping season brings excitement for many, but Pat Murray, of Kasilof, doesn’t share it.

This time of year four years ago, while exercising his two dogs in a new and minimally populated Fox Hills subdivision off of Kalifornsky Beach Road, one of them got caught in a coyote snare set just yards from the road.

“I never had any inclination they could trap there, on private property, right next to the road. I never would have gone there had I known there were traps. I never would have taken my eyes off him,” he said.

Willie — a large, black-with-white-patches, 2 ½-year-old border collie and great Dane mix — died. Now all Murray has of Willie are his memories, prompted by the contents of a scrapbook folder of his dog’s life. There’s a photo of Willie playing gently with Murray’s grandson. In another picture, Willie is eating raspberries while on a walk through lush summertime woods. In another, he is running on the beach at sunset, his tongue out, exuberance for life as clear as the shoreline water through which he was running.

“Boy, he was a good dog,” Murray said, looking at the photos.

Trapping season can nab unwary dog owners — Keep dogs in sight when in trapline areas

By Steve Meyer, for the Redoubt Reporter

If you hunt upland birds with dogs, take dogs with you on outdoor adventures or have a family dog that runs the neighborhood, then Nov. 10 is a date you want to remember. This marks the opening of trapping season for most furbearers on the Kenai Peninsula. Thus, the presence of snares, foothold and conibear traps in the field.

Dogs, being what they are, will find trap sets quicker than their wild canine counterparts, since pet dogs are not nearly as survival oriented.

Being a trapper, a hunter who hunts with dogs, and a dog lover, this subject is fairly dear to me. I have friends who have lost dogs in snares near their homes and others who have lost dogs in the wilderness. Most of the losses can be avoided with a little forethought and care to beloved canine pets.

I don’t know any trappers who want anything to do with catching someone’s dog. Most trappers are responsible and don’t set snares or kill-type traps near areas of human habitation. But as in practically any activity nowadays, there are some exceptions.

This isn’t in any way intended to tell pet owners how to deal with their pets, only a fair notice in case someone isn’t aware of the dangers inherent with a dog running loose without supervision this time of year.

If there are snares or traps in the area, there is a good chance your dog will find them and possibly get caught in them. Most trappers use some sort of bait or attractant for coyotes, wolves, wolverines or lynx. The attractant that draws these animals also will draw your canine companion.

Outdoor treks this time of year can also land you in areas where trappers are plying their trade. On the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge there are regulations that prohibit trappers from using traps larger than No. 1, which is a fairly small trap, within a mile of a road or a trailhead.

For most dogs, this is probably sufficient distance to keep out of harm’s way. Even if encountered, traps this size will rarely harm a dog. They’ll probably just get a good scare and maybe a bit of scraped hide. No such regulation exists on other state or federal property so there is a danger, even though most trappers voluntarily choose not to set kill sets closer than a mile.

It’s a snap — Furbearers beware: Trapping season promises big bounty

By Joseph Robertia

File photo by Joseph Robertia, Redoubt Reporter. A lynx makes a brief appearance off of Skilak Lake Road. As the hare population on the Kenai Peninsula increases, so do lynx numbers.

Redoubt Reporter

Long before the first Russian traders and other white settlers arrived in Alaska, trapping was part of the seasonal cycle for those who called this place home. That tradition continues, and another season of trapping furbearers will soon be open.

Many who head into the woods will look toward trapping one or more species on Kenai National Wildlife Refuge land, and to ensure that trappers set snares and leg holds as safely, legally, ethically and humanely as possible, the refuge will hold its annual trapper orientation class and snaring seminar this weekend.

“It’s a good class. You only have to take it once, but we have some trappers that come every year to learn what’s new about furbearer biology or changing regulations or new trapping methods,” said Gary Titus, a refuge employee coordinating the class and seminar, and a trapper, himself.

The trapper orientation is mandatory for anyone new to trapping on the refuge, and those wishing to extend the trap-check requirement from every four days to every seven days must attend the snaring portion of the training, as well.

The refuge serves as a common stomping ground for trappers. In 2009-10, the refuge issued 114 trapping permits, of which 69 people reported actually trapping. Fourteen of these 69 were unsuccessful, while the remaining 55 harvested 14 wolves, 19 coyotes, one wolverine, 18 marten, 93 ermine, 56 mink, 15 otter, 34 beaver, 40 muskrat and a whopping 155 lynx.

“Lynx were way up last year and should be again this year,” Titus said. “With hare numbers up, the lynx are hitting an upswing in their cycle.”

Laine Lahndt, a member of the Alaska Trappers Association and a Kasilof trapper with nearly 40 years experience, said that after the long closure on lynx trapping, chasing cats last season was a nice change of pace, and one he’s looking forward to again this year.

“It’s been nice to target something different,” he said.

Heartfelt — Fur sewer transforms love of craft into bustling business

By Joseph Robertia

Photos by Joseph Robertia, Redoubt Reporter. Sue Moore, owner of Howling Wolf Furs in Ninilchik, reviews her patterns for making beaver mittens. Custom fur orders are a substantial part of Moore’s business.

Redoubt Reporter

Meaningful change doesn’t always come from momentous impetus. Sometimes, something as small and simple as a single stitch can set a pattern of life-altering events in motion.

Such was the way Ninilchik resident Sue Moore came upon her current line of work. In 1983 she decided to give her son a gift from the heart, made by her hands, and presented him with homemade mukluks. From that first stitch, her skin-sewing life has grown in leaps, bounds and yards of hides. More than 25 years later, Moore’s successful Howling Wolf Furs is the only business to be found when flipping through the “retail fur business” section of the local phone book.

“I’ve kind of cornered the market on custom fur sewing down here,” she said.

Moore is reaching the peak of her busy season after steadily increasing summer sales.

“The tourist season is a busy time for me,” she said. “I do the Saturday Market in Kenai every weekend and I do a lot of other shows and fairs, some as far away as Fairbanks.”

Moore said hats are by far the most popular fur item tourists like to take home with them, but she does a decent amount of slippers and baby booties, too.

As the temperature drops, the orders tend to change. Trapping season will bring in more requests for rugs, adding the felt border and backing to a pelt so it can be mounted.

“I’ve got a couple of bears,” she said while flipping through a stack of neatly rolled and taxidermal hides, the heads still attached and with roaring expressions frozen on their faces.