Trapping Heritage and Education with Alaska BHA Board Member, Ryan Bandy

Greetings from the Interior, BHA members! As we arrive in December, trapping along the Yukon and Koyukuk Rivers is in full swing. Most species such as Marten and Lynx opened November 1st around the Interior of Alaska. With a couple recent cold snaps of -30 and below, many of the creeks and rivers are finally starting to freeze and animals are traveling more and further, looking for a food source or bait pile to sustain them. The colder temperatures are also priming up pelts for this years’ trapping season with rabbit numbers on the rise in many areas, which will certainly mean increased Lynx populations as well.

Ryan Bandy showing a student how to skin and preserve the fur of a marten.

A few years ago, I began teaching an introduction to trapping class for a school district that has ten schools located along the Yukon and Koyukuk Rivers. It has been an incredible opportunity to spend time with the students, faculty, and community members of these villages to discuss trapping and how it has played a vital role in their culture through the years.

This weeks’ travel is to the village of Rampart, with a population of around 40 people. Rampart is picturesquely set on the banks of the Yukon River with high bluffs of spruce and rock outcroppings sur- rounding the town. The school is small with about 12 students total, 5 of which are attending the trap- ping class. These students will be learning how to construct their own snares, choose an appropriate snare set location, and the fur handling aspect after the catch.

The first day of class we built close to 20 rabbit snares and ventured outside to look for good rabbit sign. We didn’t have to go far to find rabbit trails all around with fresh tracks from the recent snowfall. We set 5 snares out that evening just before sundown.

When the students arrived the next day, we headed out on the trapline to check our snares. As we approached our sets from a distance, one of the students said, “it looks like a rabbit came through and knocked my snare down.” As many of us know, when the seasons change, rabbit’s fur will change as well to help them blend in to their surroundings. I could see that his snare had indeed been knocked down, but for good reason. “Get a little closer and tell me what you think happened when the rabbit came through and knocked your snare down,” I said. As he approached his set slightly disheartened, he came to an abrupt halt. “I got one!” he said exclaimed with a sheer look of surprise and delight.

Earlier that morning, I had scouted the trapline and discovered his success, and we made sure his father was there to share that moment with him. As he grinned from ear to ear, he asked, “what do I do with it now.” “Bring the rabbit inside and let’s work on the fur handling and preserving the meat for dinner.”

Students learning about meat care.

The class went on to catch two more rabbits the next night. The following day we also set up a marten line with about 25 pole sets. After my departure from Rampart, their teacher informed me they had caught three marten on their first trapline check and one on the next run. I was extremely proud of these students for their success and perseverance. The previous year their marten line had yielded no luck, but they stuck with it and that made all the difference.

Students with a marten from their successful trap line.

There are many stories to share from my time traveling to these villages and teaching young adults the values and lessons they learn in the wilderness. Not just how to become a successful trapper, but what spending time in the wild teaches you as a person. It empowers young adults to enter in to a field or craft they have limited knowledge of, and acquire the skills necessary for survival, while bringing food to the table and additional income in to their household. I’m certain these trappers will continue to have success in the future and pass along their newly found craft to the next generation.