Motivations of Fur Trappers in Interior Alaska

ABSTRACT

Understanding how and why trapping effort varies among fur trappers is necessary to accurately interpret trends in fur harvest for wildlife management. We mailed questionnaires to 1,760 fur trappers in interior Alaska to characterize motivations for trapping and primary factors affecting trapping effort. A cluster analysis revealed four groups with distinct motivations for trapping: wildlife management (17% of trappers), recreation (39%), subsistence (18%), and solitude (26%) trappers. Perceived furbearer abundance had the greatest effect on trapping effort, while access to land and human conflicts were the most important social issues to trappers. Economic gain was the least important motivation for trapping among respondents. Because trapping effort mirrored furbearer abundance, harvest-based abundance indices may amplify true changes in population sizes. Our findings also suggested that managers seeking to maintain or increase satisfaction among trappers should focus on reducing human conflicts and maximizing the non-monetary benefits of trapping.

KEYWORDS:

• Alaska
• furbearer management
• motivations
• trapping
• trapping effort

Acknowledgments

S. Brainerd and K. Kielland provided valuable comments on earlier drafts of this manuscript. Biologists at the Alaska Department of Fish and Game provided helpful feedback during discussions early in the study’s development. Local trappers also provided feedback in the development of the questionnaire.

Funding

Funding was provided by the Institute of Arctic Biology and the Resilience and Adaptation Program at the University of Alaska–Fairbanks.

Additional information

Funding

Funding was provided by the Institute of Arctic Biology and the Resilience and Adaptation Program at the University of Alaska–Fairbanks.