danger of bobcat overharvest?

[musher]

Seeing those $1000 cats reminds me of what happened to lynx here.

The lynx were going for big bucks. Catching a few quickly turned a good season into an excellent one. Guys climbed over the next hill or crossed that other lake because just catching one made the effort worthwhile.

The result, besides fat wallets, was a decimated lynx population.

The prices fell and strict gov't regulations arrived as well. Seasons were closed. They are now reopened but watched closely. The lynx are now back, too.

Could it happen to bobcats?

[flatlander (Jeff Yancy)]

I am not too familiar with the East but out West, you'd have to see the country to believe it. Hundreds and hundreds of miles of inaccessible country. I'd say only about 20% could be trapped. We have a very good seed base.

[BrandonH]

Flatlander nailed it.... Plus, by the time you calculate the $ invested in catching fur these days, it is far less profitable than the days of the fur boom.

[cameron2]

Nevada, in particular, has a large land mass that is not accessible. We have the Nevada Test Site, which is hundreds of square miles of area where there is no access for any reason, let alone hunting or trapping. We also have large tracts of land that are wilderness areas that are inaccessible to trappers. The Great Basin National Park, Death Valley National Park, Jarbidge Wilderness Area, and many others (and more all the time, thanks to our fine senator from Searchlight), when combined, represent an area larger than some small eastern states. In my county, we have the Lake Mead National Recreational area where there are hundreds of thousands of acreas of land that cannot be accessed or trapped.

There are certainly areas of accessability where cats can be overharvested, but as a species, that doesn't seem to be a possiblity here.

[bobwendt]

even semi civilized cat states, like ks, have river bottoms and 20,000 acre roadless pastures that are inaccesable except on horseback. maybe not east ks, but western for sure. the roadie cats can be decimated, but there`s lots of ground away from that road. separates the trappers from the riff raff.

[musher]

I guess that snow was the difference here. Winter makes everything accessable.

However, we also have a huge area. And 80% of it can be trapped only by natives. And natives didn't trap them as hard. That's probably what saved the lynx.

Glad to hear that the resource is safe.

[mostinterestingmanintheworld]

There is more country in the county I trap that I can't access than there is that I can. I drive through 30 miles of Indian Reservation before I can set a trap. Seven million acres of "wilderness" areas where you can't drive. Sheldon Antelope refuge, areas near the suburban sprawl, on and on.

Like Wendt says those along the roads get hammered but one ridge over they don't get touched.

Joel

[mat]

i just got back from 7 days of scouting next years line and one thing i couldnt beleave was the abuse by four wheelers. it seemed to me that every where i walked to there was a trail on top. is it the same in nevada? other western states?

[flatlander (Jeff Yancy)]

Not in Calif! Well! only if you want your Wheeler and Truck confiscated!

[TurTLe]

4 wheelers are the main reason Arizona is locking up land at an alarming rate. Down where I'm from, the snowbirds think the land is there retirement playground. If they see something in the desert, instead of stopping their bike on the trail and walking over to it. They just cut new tracks right through whatever is in their way.

They should pass laws forbidding snowbirds before they lock up land.LOL