Trappers harvesting beaver and fisher are reminded they must present the whole animal or pelt to a game checking station or DNR representative within 30 days after the close of the respective season.  A tag provided by the checking station shall be attached to the whole animal or pelt until it has been sold, tanned, or mounted.

A recent law change now requires bobcat hunters and trappers to field tag each bobcat before moving the animal from the location where it was killed.  The field tag must remain on the carcass until it is retagged with an official game checking tag at an official game checking station.   Hunters and trappers are to present the unskinned bobcat when checking the animal.

Information provided by hunters or trappers on the checking tag is used to monitor harvest and assist in future management of the different species in West Virginia. Decisions regarding season length, opening and closing dates, and bag limits are reliant upon accurate data obtained from these tags.  Recent improvements in international fur markets have resulted in increased harvests of furbearers making it most important to closely monitor harvests at this time.

An immature mountain lion found dead last week in a bobcat snare in western North Dakota is the second young cat inadvertently taken in a two-week span in roughly the same area.
A young 50-pound male lion was found Jan. 30 about 10 miles northwest of Grassy Butte in McKenzie County. In mid-January, a bobcat trapper found a 46-pound male lion in one of his traps north of Theodore Roosevelt National Park’s North Unit. Both lions were less than a year old, and were caught within 11 miles of each other.
Because of their young age, both cats were almost certainly born in North Dakota, said Dorothy Fecske, furbearer biologist for the North Dakota Game and Fish Department.
“We appreciate the trapper contacting us,” Fecske said. “As with all the other cats harvested in North Dakota, biological samples may help us determine if these animals are related.”
A third lion, caught in a trap in the badlands in November, was fitted with a radio-collar and released. Game and Fish biologists have been monitoring this lion weekly and have found the animal staying within a 25-square-mile area.

BABCOCK, Wis. — First-time trappers in Wisconsin are required to attend a trapper education course before being able to puchase a trapping license. The course was developed by the Department of Natural Resources and the Wisconsin Trappers Association to teach safe and humane trapping skills.
The Sandhill Outdoor Skills Center near Babcock, will offer a trapper workshop on Sept. 16-17 from 9 a.m. Saturday to 2 p.m. Sunday.
The course is open to anyone 12 years old and older. People successfully completing the course will receive WTA-DNR trapper education graduation cards and free trapping privileges for the year.
Registration is limited to 25 people on a first-come, first-served basis. Register by mailing in $25 registration fee per person by Sept. 6. Checks should be made out to DNR-Skills Center. Include the name of each participant, and the address and daytime phone number of one person in each party. Send your registration fee to: Sandhill Outdoor Skills Center, PO Box 156, Babcock, WI 54413. Inquiries on the status of registrations may be sent via e-mail to: .
Students should provide their own sleeping bag, a bag lunch for Saturday and appropriate clothing for working outdoors. They will also have to make their own arrangements for transportation to and from Sandhill. A registration fee of $25 includes the Wisconsin Trappers Association education manual, three meals, refreshments, and tent camping.
More information on the Sandhill Outdoor Skills Center can be found on the DNR Web site.
The Sandhill Outdoor Skills Center is located 20 miles west of Wisconsin Rapids on County Highway X, 1 mile north of Highway 80 near Babcock, Wisconsin on the 9,000 acre Department of Natural Resources Sandhill Wildlife Area.
FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT: Sandhill Skills Center at: 884-6333 or 884-2437

Trappers are reminded that trapping seasons for bobcat, foxes, raccoon, coyote, skunk, opossum, weasel, mink and muskrat end at noon on Tuesday, February 28, 2006. Beaver season continues through March 31, 2006. Beaver, bobcat and fisher pelts must be tagged at an official game checking station or by a DNR representative within 30 days of the close of the season. The tag must remain on the beaver, bobcat and fisher pelt until it has been sold, tanned or mounted.
Beaver, bobcat and mink pelts brought fair prices at the West Virginia Trappers Association Auction in January. The next West Virginia Trappers Association Auction is March 3-5, 2006, at the Glenville Recreation Center.
Trappers trapping on a wildlife management area are required to obtain a trapping permit from the district wildlife biologist. Trappers should also note that a shipping tag is required for pelts shipped outside the state. Also, any bobcat pelt that may be shipped outside of the United States must be sealed with a CITES tag. Shipping and CITES tags are available at DNR District Offices and the Elkins Operations Center.