AKRON, OH -- Busy beavers can be bothersome in certain areas so ODNRs divisions of Wildlife, Parks & Recreation and Forestry will be holding special drawings (please see accompanying table) to select trappers for harvesting beaver on state properties.
Beaver trapping on public lands is limited to areas where the flooding from beaver dams interferes with other management practices or affects adjacent, private property or roadways. Trapping permits may also be issued when large beaver populations have a negative impact on the food supplies for other wildlife .
The drawings in the North Zone this beaver season will allow trapping at Punderson and West Branch State Parks and on the Grand River and Shenango Wildlife Areas, beginning January 13, 2001 and ending February 28, 2001. Anyone interested in trapping beaver at Punderson State Park must send a post card to the park office by January 3, 2001, including their name, address, phone number and fur takers permit number. They should also indicate their choice of trapping locations from among Punderson Lake, Stump Lake or Pine Lake/Park Office Pond. One trapper will be chosen for each of those locations. Applicants must be 18 years of age or older. Questions and post cards should be addressed to: Punderson State Park Beaver Trapping, P.O. Box 338, Newbury, Ohio 44065-0224. Only one post card per applicant must be received at the park office prior to the noon drawing.
Beaver trapping opportunities will also be offered on several public areas in northeast Ohio. Trappers for the Grand River and Shenango Wildlife Areas will be selected at a public drawing on Saturday, December 16 at 9 a.m. at the Mosquito Creek Waterfowl Refuge, 8303 N. Park Avenue, North Bloomfield, Ohio (2 miles south of SR 87 on N. Park Avenue). Two trappers will be selected for Grand River and one trapper for Shenango. On December 9, at 9 a.m., there will be a drawing at the West Branch State Park Office on Rock Springs Road (south of SR 5 and north of the reservoir), to select four trappers for beaver trapping within that park and one trapper each to catch beaver at the Berlin Wildlife Area and Tinkers Creek State Park in Portage County. Trappers must be present at each respective drawing to be eligible.
Trappers interested in taking beaver on the Fernwood and Harrison State Forest lands in Jefferson and Harrison counties, should know that the season in the South Zone opens on December 26, 2000. To apply, trappers need to send a post card to the ODNR Division of Forestry by December 18, 2000. Post cards must contain their name, address, phone number and fur takers permit number. They should also indicate their choice of trapping locations (i.e. Fernwood State Forest, Harrison State Forest or both). Applicants must be 18 years of age or older to apply and only one post card per applicant. Post cards must be received prior to the 3 p.m. drawing. Post cards should be mailed to: ODNR Division of Forestry, Tim Humphrey, New Philadelphia District Office.
Questions may be addressed to the Division of Wildlifes District Three Headquarters, (330) 644-2293, the West Branch State Park Office, (330) 296-3239 or the Division of Forestrys at 330-339-2205.
