PALMER — A new Alaska state game regulation will ban most traps and snares within 50 yards of certain popular state-managed trails in the Matanuska-Susitna Borough starting late this year.
The rule is intended to help trail users avoid encounters between their dogs and trap lines, according to officials with the Alaska Trappers Association and the Alaska Wildlife Alliance, which co-authored the regulation.
The measure was unanimously approved by the state Board of Game during its regular central and southwest region meeting last month. It will go into effect for the 2025-26 trapping season, which starts in late fall and runs through early spring.
Traps and snares set for animals such as wolves and marmots can seriously injure or kill dogs. Where and whether they should be allowed has long been a source of conflict between dog owners and trappers.
At least two dogs were seriously injured by traps in Mat-Su in January. They included Alaska reality TV star Marty Raney’s dog, who was caught in a trap intended for a wolf and placed off a subdivision near Hatcher Pass, Raney said in a social media post. His dog, Arkose, broke his teeth trying to chew the steel trap off his foot, Raney wrote. Raney declined a request for an interview about the incident.
The new regulation applies to most types of traps along 13 popular Mat-Su trails used in winter for skiing, hiking, running and fat biking. The trails are:
- Talkeetna Lakes Park trail system (XYZ Lakes trails)
- Dorothy Jones Trail System at Susitna Valley High School
- Matanuska Lakes State Recreation Area (developed trails)
- Scout Ridge Loop (Knik-Fairview)
- Reflections Lake Trail (Knik River)
- Nelson Road (Palmer Hay Flats)
- Rabbit Slough Boat Launch Access Road (Palmer Hay Flats)
- Wasilla Creek Boardwalk (Palmer Hay Flats)
- Government Peak Recreation Area (developed trail in the southern development area)
- Independence Mine ski trails (Hatcher Pass)
- Gold Mint Trail to Mint Glacier (Hatcher Pass)
- Reed Lakes Trails to Lower Reed Lake (Hatcher Pass)
- Archangel Road to the gate (Hatcher Pass)
The ban does not apply to certain traps that experts say typically do not pose a danger to dogs, including those elevated at least three feet above the ground, commonly used for marten, those set underwater or under ice, or traps that are fully enclosed, according to the regulation.
Alaska State Wildlife Troopers will enforce the regulation, with violators subject to fines of up to $500 under current rules, said Wildlife Trooper and Northern Detachment Commander Capt. Brent Johnson. Offenders could also be ordered to forfeit their equipment, he said.
About 28,000 state trapping licenses were issued in 2022, according to state data. It is illegal to disrupt trap lines.
There are no statewide rules governing where trappers can operate or requiring them to mark their traps. Local regulations vary by region. An online map created by the Wildlife Alliance allows users to document where they have encountered traps.
In Mat-Su, trapping is banned in certain borough parks and on school grounds under a law passed by the Assembly in 2017.
The cities of Anchorage, Kenai and Juneau also have their own trapping regulations. A Valdez city ordinance banning traps in certain parts of town was upheld by the Alaska Supreme Court in May. A lawsuit brought by the Alaska Trappers Association and the National Trappers Association argued that the rule violated the state constitution.
Dog leash requirements, which some trapping advocates say should be enforced instead of passing new regulations, vary by area and can include voice or electronic collars that allow animals to run free.
The new regulation was crafted by two organizations rarely seen on the same side of a trapping issues and brought together by what representatives said is a common value: protecting dogs. The Alaska Wildlife Alliance is an Anchorage-based conservation group, while the Alaska Trappers Association advocates for trapping and has previously opposed trapping regulations.
“Our objective is to keep dogs out of traps,” said Pete Buist, a Fairbanks-based spokesman for the Alaska Trappers Association who sat on the state game board under Gov. Frank Murkowski. “Quite frankly, from a political sense, it wouldn’t have made sense for us to oppose it just because we don’t want to give an inch. That’s not our objective.”
Wildlife Alliance officials sat down with Trappers Association members after a 2021 measure requesting 50-yard setbacks on a broad list of more than 200 Mat-Su trails was rejected, said Nicole Schmitt, the Alaska Wildlife Alliance’s executive director.
The working session was requested by the board and facilitated by now-former board member Lynn Keogh, Schmitt said.
Republished with permission from the Mat-Su Sentinel, an independent, nonprofit, nonpartisan online news source. Contact Amy Bushatz at abushatz@matsusentinel.com.