KALISPELL — Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks (FWP) held its annual meeting with the Montana Trappers Association on Sunday, giving local trappers a voice in the upcoming trapping seasons.
People from the local trapping community gathered at the Region 1 Headquarters in Kalispell to analyze and discuss the data collected from previous years’ trapping seasons.
Factors such as the population of certain animals, like bobcats, beavers and otters, were discussed at length between FWP and local trappers to come up with regulations for the upcoming season.
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Trappers proposed lowering the quota for trapping Bobcats and proposed raising the quota for trapping beavers, among other things.
Montana FWP Wildlife Biologist Jessy Coltrane explained how the discussions went in the meeting.
“So we worked together to really look at all the data holistically and make decisions on proposals that we'll put forward to the game commission for season settings,” Coltrane said.
That collaboration is important to people like John Dana, who knows the importance of setting the correct quotas and regulations to ensure the work trappers put in is not wasted.
It's a place that trappers get to come and we have a voice here,” Dana said. “So, you know, there's a saying amongst us that if you don't show up to the meetings, then you can't complain.
Dana also said the decisions made in this meeting are made with the intention of protecting the ecosystems in the area from an abundance of certain animals or animals that may be invasive to the land.
“None of us trapping, none of the trapping community does it to make money or be rich anymore,” Dana said. “Not like back in the boom days, most of us do it now because it's, we're just being stewards.”
