CLEAR LAKE – More than 15,000 fur harvesters are expected to head to the streams, timber and fence lines when Iowa’s fur harvest season begins Nov. 7. While bobcats and otters grab the headlines, other species, like raccoons, make up the bulk of the harvest.
Coyote numbers are doing well statewide, with higher numbers in the Loess Hills area, the southern half of the state and in the far eastern counties. Coyotes are less abundant elsewhere but with a good predator call in the right habitat, furharvesters could pick up a coyote anywhere in the state.
There is a good population of beaver and mink over much of the state. Mink have been providing a challenging option to late season trappers who battle ice and cold conditions to keep their traps functional and trapping skills honed.
Red fox numbers are down and the population is seemingly trending downward. The loss of habitat, past outbreaks of mange and competition from coyotes have all added to the decline of the red fox in Iowa. For the past four years the red and also the gray fox has been on the low end of the harvest totals.
Muskrats, once the mainstay for Iowa trappers, remain in low numbers in Iowa, the Midwest and across much of the nation. There are a few local wetlands that have a fair number of muskrats but furharvesters will need to scout them out.
The otter and bobcat quotas remain unchanged from 2008 with a limit of 200 bobcats and 500 otters in total, and one bobcat and two otters per licensed furharvester.
Furharvesters who are successful must call a conservation officer or other designated DNR personnel within 24 hours of capturing the otter or harvesting the bobcat, and meet with DNR personnel within 48 hours to receive and apply at CITES tag. The CITES tag must be applied before the otter or bobcat is skinned and remain with the animal until it is sold.
The DNR will post the daily quota on its website and on the telephone harvest hotline at 515-281-5918.
Once the quotas for each are met, trappers have a 48 hour grace period to report any trapped bobcats or otters. Otters and bobcats caught within the grace period may be kept. After the grace period, and in areas of the state closed to bobcat harvest, all trapped otters and bobcats must be turned over to Iowa conservation officers or other Iowa DNR personnel. There is no grace period for bobcats that are shot.
The bobcat season is only open in the southern two tiers of Iowa counties and in the counties along the Missouri River from Woodbury County through Fremont County.
Fur markets may be a little sluggish but furharvesters are encouraged to still get out there and pursue their favorite quarry and enjoy Iowa’s great outdoors.
Furharvesters must have a furharvester license and pay the habitat fee, if normally required to do so to trap. There were nearly 16,000 fur harvesters who participated in Iowa in 2008. So far in 2009, more than 9,100 fur harvester licenses have been sold.
The season runs through Jan. 31, 2010, except for beaver which closes on April 1.
For more information, contact Ron Andrews, DNR Furbearer Specialist, at 641-425-5088.
Iowa Sportsman
http://www.iowasportsman.com/article.php/20091103125649981