New Trapping Regulations for Alaska

Had this newspaper article passed along... http://www.adn.com/news/alaska/story/463328.html

Very, very interesting and very encouraging to know that something is being done to keep safe those who recreate in the wilds.

I'm not against trapping, never was, never will be... but after my own incidence with traps I have strong feelings towards those who trap so close to developed land.

I had mushed the dogs passed that same area months after our incident. I knew the trap sets had been there but was not sure if they were removed. I had a few pups with me who were loose training behind the team, staying with us and behaving well. They had not encountered the trap site before but when we passed by the lure of bait was so strong that they instantly picked up their noses and wanted to investigate.

I called to them to keep following, which they did, and we sped past...

I have no ideas if the trapper is still setting traps there or if the bait was old and not removed. I really don't care at this point but the idea that my dogs were still interested about going in there, that the smell was strong enough to lure them off the main trail directly toward the traps and knowing that those pups interested clearly had no idea what lay in the woods before hand since they were not with us for the first encounter clearly tells me that the bait smelled so strong and was so close to the trail that a passing dog walker could easily have gotten into the same situation.

Our rules and regulations need to change at some point to keep up with our constantly changing world...